Another Side of Me
by dinosoprano
Summary: Ted and Andromeda came from two different worlds. One came from middle class London, the other from high class. One was a muggleborn, the other a pureblood. They should hate each other, yet they don't. What lead to the union of the Tonks's?Please Review!
1. Gone

Author's note: I do not own Harry Potter. Andromeda and Ted are some of my absolute favorite characters. For some reason I have a fascination with barely mentioned characters. Anyhow, I love the thought behind these two. One is sworn to despise the other and yet, they have an amazing daughter and they love each other more than anything. My question is; how did it happen? If they really do love each other so much, why only one child? Enjoy my take on it and please review! It helps to know what the readers want!

Jennifer aka dinosoprano

Chapter 1: Gone

_Gone crazy, going out of my mind_

_I've asked myself the reasons at least a thousand times_

_Going up and down these hallways trying to leave the pain behind_

_Ever since you left…I've been gone._

"So, I was thinking that we could make a pit stop at Dervish and Banges before we leave. I need a new quill to replace the one you sat on." Fabian said.

"It shouldn't have been on the chair." Robert argued. Both boys laughed.

"Can you believe we're almost seventh years?" Fabian asked. "Six more weeks and we can officially say we're the oldest students."

"Then it's off to the real world of jobs, money, women and headaches." Robert said.

"I've decided to become a Law Enforcement Officer." Fabian announced.

"What happened to the auror dream?" Robert asked.

"Failed out of Potions, remember? Anyhow, I can get into Law Enforcement with and Acceptable O.W.L. Potions grade, no N.E.W.T. needed, so it's no big deal." Fabian answered. He opened the door to Dervish and Banges and the two boys went in. quills were at the front of the little shop.

"Wow, four for two Knut, now that's a bargain." Robert stated.

"Two for each of us then," Fabian said grabbing four eagle feather quills. They went up to the counter where a young woman with blonde hair rung them up and sent them on their way.

"So what are you going to do after graduation?" Fabian asked as they passed the Three Broomsticks.

"I don't know, when I was little I wanted to be a firefighter." Robert answered.

"A what?" Fabian asked absently.

"A person who puts out fires," Robert explained. "Obviously, there is no need for one in the wizarding world."

It was then that the first sign of strange things to come happened. Robert's head began to throb like a sudden migraine. His vision blurred and his eyes began to shake. He stumbled and dropped his Zonko's bag. He grabbed his pounding head as his knees buckled. It was gone before he hit the ground.

"Robert! Robert, are you okay?" Fabian abruptly came back into view as Robert's vision cleared. He was panting heavily and his whole body shook violently.

"What happened? Is he okay?" Fabian's twin brother, Gideon asked running over.

"I don't know, he won't talk," Fabian said worriedly.

"I'm fine, I just passed out. It's nearly ninety degrees out and I haven't had much to drink. I'm just dehydrated." Robert said hoarsely.

"Are you sure? You grabbed your head." Fabian said.

"Maybe he's being possessed." Gideon suggested.

"Oh yes, that's exactly what's wrong with him, Gideon." Fabian said angrily.

"Calm down, I was only trying to lighten things up. He said he was fine. Besides, dehydration gives you headaches." Gideon spat.

"Guys, cut it out. I just need to get a drink in the Three Broomsticks and then we can head up to school." Robert said standing up with the twins help. The three boys walked into the pub and didn't say anything more on the subject.

"You may begin." Professor Dumbledore called, flipping an hourglass over. The sixth years were taking their Transfiguration exam. It was the last exam of the year and they were all eager to get it over and done with. McGonagall had the class arranged in alphabetical order, so Gideon and Fabian were three rows ahead of Robert. They all exchanged a wink and then began on their tests.

Gideon and Fabian finished in record time. They were the Transfiguration prodigies. It was their best subject and they were better than everyone except Professor Dumbledore, but he hardly counted as he was a genius at everything. As Fabian passed Robert's seat, he whispered, "Good luck, see you by the maple tree." Robert nodded ever so slightly to show that he had heard.

Time passed by slowly. Robert felt his eyes growing heavy from lack of sleep. The night before he'd spent studying instead of sleeping. Transfiguration was hard for him and he had to really work to get the good grades he had in it. Worried about the exam, he hadn't realized he hadn't slept until four in the morning.

_Describe what a Metamorphmagus is. _

_ A person who can change their appearance at will. _Robert wrote. He wondered if it was painful for them to change or if they scrunched their faces up out of habit. His head began to throb dully as he yawned. He was in need of an after test nap.

_Name a famous Animagus. _

_ Morgan le Fay, King Arthur's half-sister, she became a raven._

Did he need to explain that or just write her name? To heck with it, he may get extra credit. Ravens…ravens are black…and so is the classroom…no, Dumbledore's room wasn't black, it was gray stone. Then why is it so dark? And why is everything shaking?

Robert groaned as the dull throbbing faded away. He felt warm sheets surrounding him. Where was he? Had he finished the test and headed for the Gryffindor Tower? Was he already in bed? He must be, people were talking quietly nearby…or had been until he'd groaned.

"Mr. Tonks, can you hear me?" Madam Pomfrey, the school's new nurse asked. So, he was in the hospital wing…but why? The he remembered the headache.  
"Yes," Robert croaked.

"Good, you passed out during the test from lack of sleep. I trust you got plenty now?" she asked. Robert started to nod, but it brought the throbbing back so he stopped.

"Yes, I got plenty of sleep." He answered.

"Mr. Prewett seems to have another thought to your passing out. He says this isn't the first time you passed out this year?" Madam Pomfrey probed.

"No, it's not the first time. I passed out during the last Hogsmeade trip." Robert admitted. Madam Pomfrey's eyes bulged.

"Five weeks ago? Why didn't you come to me then?" she scolded.

"I was fine after a glass of water. I didn't pass out again until today."

"Yesterday," Fabian whispered.

"Yesterday," Robert corrected. "Yesterday?" He spun to look at Fabian, instantly regretting it as his head protested.

Fabian nodded. "You were out cold, my friend. Are you sure you aren't ill?"

"Yes, I'm positive, I feel fine now." Robert insisted.

"Well I'm going to keep you here a little longer, just to be sure." Madam Pomfrey said turning to leave. "I'll get you something to eat."

"Robert, you're really starting to scare me." Fabian said quietly once the nurse was gone.

"I know, I'm scaring me too."

"Robby's coming! Robby's coming!" sang a little blonde haired girl, dancing around the kitchen. Her mother laughed.

"Ellie, sweetheart, I know you're excited, but calm down before you break something!"

Ellie stopped dancing and sat at the table. "Sorry, Mummy, I'm just so happy to see my favorite cousin!"

"He's you're only cousin, dipstick." Her brother said as he came in to get a glass of water.

"Ted, be nice to your sister." His mother scolded. Ted ignored her.

"When is Robby coming?" he asked.

"Any time now." His mother replied. Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Robby!" Ellie squealed excitedly dashing out of the room. Unable to help himself, Ted followed. He shook his head as she squealed again in delight, unlocking the front door. She could be so immature sometimes, and she was only ten months younger than he!

"Hey, Ellie!" Robert swung Ellie in a circle before hugging her and placing feet back on the ground. He pecked her cheek before she dashed outside to see their aunt and uncle.

"Hi, Robby," Ted said giving Robert a hug.

"Hey, Teddy," Robert returned.

"Do you have to call me that?" Ted asked.

"Do you have to call me Robby?" Robert retorted, giving his cousin a wink. "Hi, Aunt Margaret." He said giving Ted's mother a hug.

"Hello, Robert, have a nice school year?" Margaret asked.

"It was pretty uneventful." Robert replied.

"Mummy, look what Uncle Eddie got me!" Ellie shouted running back into the house, a dress in tow. Ted shook his head, annoyed with her girlyness. Robert chuckled.

"Let's go outside, there's someone I'd like you to meet." Robert whispered to Ted. Ted nodded and followed…anything to get away from his obnoxious sister. By his aunt and uncle's car a boy about Robert's age was unloading what appeared to be a caged owl.

"You have an owl?" Ted asked. He looked uncertainly at his cousin. "Is that legal?"

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" Robert assured him. "Ted, this is my best friend, Fabian Prewett." Fabian, this is my cousin, Ted Tonks."

"Like the singer?" Ted asked. Fabian looked confused.

"Yes, exactly," Robert answered.

"Cool, nice to meet you." Ted said shaking Fabian's hand.

"The pleasure is all mine." Fabian replied. His owl gave an indignant hoot. Fabian glared at it. "Shut up, Ogden, I'm letting you out." He opened the cage and Ogden took off, cuffing Fabian in the head. "Stupid bird," he muttered. Robert laughed.

"You'll find that he and Ogden don't always see eye to eye." He said.

"He's a Lesser Horned Owl. They're rare, how did you get one?" Ted asked suspiciously.

"Robby, who's your friend?" Ellie asked skipping down the front walk.

"Fabian, this is my cousin, Ellie." Robert introduced.

"Fabian, like that cute American singer?" Ellie asked.

"Yes," Robert replied.

Inside the house, Robert's parents had finished putting his bags in the guest room and were joining Ted and Ellie's mother in the kitchen.

"Margaret, we can't thank you enough for watching Robert while we're gone. I know he's a teenager and more than capable of watching himself, but we've been concerned." Kathy began.

"Concerned? Is something wrong with Robert?" Margaret asked.

"We don't know," Edward said. "He's been suffering a near constant headache and he's been very lethargic. Sometimes he passes out."

"The point is, he isn't well enough to stay home alone for the summer." Kathy said. "His doctor told us that if he passed out again that we were advised to take him to the hospital. If that happens, ask for Dr. Reynolds."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on him. Anything else?" Margaret asked.

"Call us if he's hospitalized." Edward said.

"Of course, it never crossed my mind not to." Margaret said.

"Well, we best be off. Thank you for everything. Tell Theodore we stopped by and all. Mother's going to call sometime this week to update us on her book tour." Edward said.

"Okay, I'll tell him, you two have fun." Margaret said as she followed them out the front door. She watched them hug their only son and his friend, then their niece and nephew before driving off. Margaret watched her nephew spin Ellie again. He looked so alive and full of energy. It was hard to believe that something might actually be wrong with him.

It was the first week of July and the Tonks's and Fabian had gone to the neighborhood park. Fabian was sitting on a swinf watching the other three play. He didn't quite get their game.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!" Robert called from the bottom of the slide. Ellie poked her head over the slide's edge.

"Is that you, my dear Prince Charming?" she asked.

"Prince Charming, that's the best you've got?" Fabian asked laughing. Ellie pouted.

"That's his name in the fairytale!" she shouted. Fabian stopped the swing.

"This is a fairytale?" Fabian asked. Ellie looked at him strangely as Robert tried to tell him to shut up without drawing attention.

"Of course it is, didn't you ever read Rapunzel?" Ellie asked. "You have a sister, don't you?"

"Yes, but Molly's not really into that kind of stuff." Fabian said. "She likes the Tale of-"

"The Three Billy Goats Gruff," Robert interrupted. "Stories like that and the Gingerbread man."

"Oh, no Cinderella or Snow White?" Ellie asked.

"Nope, besides, she's already got her Prince Charming." Robert informed. "She's married."

"She's that old?" Ellie gasped.

"She's nineteen if that's what you mean." Fabian huffed.

"Married at nineteen? Wow!" Ellie said impressed.

"How's this, instead of Prince Charming, I'll be Prince Gideon." Robert said.

"Oo, what a handsome name." Ellie squealed as Fabian made a face.

"Gideon, really? You did that on purpose." He whined. Robert just smiled.

"Is that you my dear Prince Gideon?" Ellie cried dramatically.

"Yes my love, it is I." Robert cried back.

"Who dares to bother my sweet Rapunzel?" Ted boomed from somewhere unseen. Both Robert and Ellie gasped.

"Run my dear Prince, it's the wizard!" Ellie shouted.

"I shan't leave you, Princess! I shall fight him off, for he has trapped you where I cannot reach!" Robert shouted. He drew a stick from his belt loop.

"Come out and face me like a man!" he shouted bravely. Fabian was desperately trying not to laugh. It was like watching a horribly done play.

Ted jumped out from behind a bush, his own stick brandished like a wand. He grinned evilly. "Thou hast poisoned her beautiful mind for the last time! Fear me mortal, for this is the last you'll see of this life!"

Fabian was impressed. Ted was quite an actor. Robert grinned.

"I think not foul being. You have hurt my lovely Rapunzel enough and you shall pay!" he charged at Ted. Ted cleverly dodged him and shouted. "Trees, I call on you to tie him still!"

Robert shrieked and fell to the ground, writhing as if vines were tying him up. Ted smiled triumphantly. He was walking slowly over to Ellie, as if waiting for Robert to free himself from his bindings and kill the evil wizard. It never came. Ted turned around, tapping his foot. Ellie frowned.

"Okay Robby, you can come kill Ted now. Your sword was still in your hand." She shouted. He didn't move. Fabian stood up. Was he playing? Suddenly, Robert began to shake violently, without control. Ellie screamed. Fabian bolted over to his friend and flipped him over. He was having a seizure. He looked up.

"Ted, hurry and get your mother! He needs to go to the hospital!" he shouted. Ted, who had gone very white, dropped his stick and ran as fast as his clumsy legs would let him. As the house came into view he began shouting. Both his parents were in the front garden planting pansies.

"Goodness son, what's the matter?" his father asked.

"Robert…Robert…" Ted gasped out. Margaret gasped.

"Theodore, Robert, he's hurt!" she stood quickly and ran inside. When she came back out, she had her purse and the car keys. Theodore had run to the park to go help Fabian bring Robert home. Ted was hugging himself and trying not to cry. He couldn't help but feel that it was his fault. Margaret saw her distraught son and came over to him. She gathered him in her arms.

"It's okay, sweetie, he'll be fine." She reassured him. Ted nodded, not really believing her.

Theodore came rushing up, Robert in his arms. He looked pale and worried. Fabian came forward and opened the door to the backseat. He hopped in and Theodore handed Robert to him carefully. Closing the door he turned to his wife and son.

"He had a seizure, he's not well. I checked his blood pressure and it's way up. We need to move fast. Ted, can you and Ellie fit in the back with Robert lying across you or should we put you two in the front seat and your mother in the back?"

"I want to sit up front." Ellie wailed. She was obviously terrified by the days events. Theodore nodded.

"I'll sit in back." Ted said hurrying to the other side.

"What about Kathy and Edward?" Margaret fretted.

"We'll call them from the hospital, there's no time now" Theodore said hopping in the driver's side. Margaret got in the passenger's side and they were off. Ellie was sobbing quietly the whole ride. Ted wished she would stop, he felt bad enough as it was. He had never realized how big Robert was until he had part of his dead weight on top of him. It worried him that Robby didn't move at all. He glanced at Fabian. His face was drawn and he didn't take his eyes off Robby's face.

Fabian didn't notice Ted staring at him. He was too concerned for his friend. He knew that Robert shouldn't have taken this more seriously. He'd never had a seizure before. Fabian wasn't even sure what that meant. He just knew that something was seriously wrong with his best friend, especially by the way his aunt and uncle were acting. Not to mention poor little Ellie and Ted.

He had never been to a Muggle hospital before. The thought kind of frightened him. It wasn't because hospitals freaked him out, but he had planned to visit one just for fun. He had never thought he'd be taking Robert to one to make sure he would live through the night. He might have been exaggerating, but the worst thing that had ever happened to him was when Molly had eloped with Arthur fresh out of Hogwarts…

"Mr. and Mrs. Tonks?" a kind-faced nurse asked several hours later.

"Yes?" four voices asked.

"Which of you are Robert's parents?" the nurse asked.

"We are, is Robert okay?" Kathy asked tearfully.

"Dr. Reynolds would like to do a cat scan before he makes his final analysis. We just need your permission." The nurse said kindly.

"A cat scan? What for?" Edward asked rubbing his wife's shoulders.

"We need to find the source of his headaches. They may be something serious. Plus, we found a rather large bruise on his forehead." The nurse explained.

"It's still there?" Fabian blurted. Everyone looked at him. The nurse beckoned him over.

"What can you tell me of this bruise?" she asked.

"We were playing…er…Quidditch, a game we made up where you play on broomsticks. He…landed kind of funny and his broom whacked him on the head. He said it was no big deal." Fabian said hesitantly.

"I might not have been at the time, but it's quite serious now. I need to inform Dr. Reynolds. It'll be another half an hour or so." The nurse vanished behind a set of double doors. Kathy and Edward sat back down, but Fabian remained standing.

"This all my fault." He said. "If I had just convinced him to go to a doctor earlier…"  
"Fabian, no one could have predicted this. Even we should have done something sooner." Edward said soothingly.  
"But…"Fabian tried to argue.

"No, if it's anyone's fault, it's Robert's for not taking this seriously." Theodore said.

"I hate to admit it, but he's right." Edward said. "He let this sit too long."

Ted barely listened. He hoped this was just a fluke and that nothing was seriously wrong with Robby. It would break his heart if his cousin had to remain in the hospital. Why hadn't he said anything? Better yet, why had he not done something about it before now? Why did he have to scare his family like this? Ted was so furious at his cousin and so upset that he was hurt, he barely registered that a doctor had come out of the double doors. His parents and aunt and uncle stood to meet him. Fabian, who hadn't sat back down, hovered by the group.

"After seeing the cat scans I have come to the conclusion that Robert is indeed very ill." Dr. Reynolds said. "I wish he had been brought to me much sooner. I'm sad to inform you that he has brain cancer."

Ted froze. _Cancer? _It couldn't be. Only old people got cancer. He had to have heard wrong. Robert could not have cancer. It was incurable. He would surely die from it and Robert was much too young to die.

Kathy began to sob into her husband's chest. Edward was speechless. Theodore grabbed Margaret who had nearly screamed. Ellie was pale and the tears burst forth again unheeded. Fabian looked confused.

"I beg your pardon? What's caner?" he asked. The doctor seemed unsurprised by the question.

"It is a disease where your cells do not copy themselves right. They become a cluster of useless cells that can sometimes discolor skin, put pressure on bones and joints and cause many problems depending on where the tumor is located. It hasn't been until recently that a near cure has been discovered." The doctor explained talking more to Robert's parents now. "It's called chemotherapy. It basically zaps the tumor away. There are some side affects though; lethargy, severe hair loss, loss of appetite and such. It has been proved 60% affective at removing the cancerous cells."

"Will it save Robert?" Kathy asked. The doctor looked uncomfortable.

"I do not know. He is at an advanced stage in the cancer. We may not be able to treat him at all." He informed them. "We can give it a try though. The least it can do is let him live a little longer."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, who said anything about death?" Fabian interrupted.

"Son, cancer, when it's not treated, usually ends in death and in Robert's case, it will if we don't. Brain cancer is very dangerous." Dr. Reynolds said softly. Fabian looked horrified.

"You mean, no matter what you do, he's going to _die_?" Fabian asked.

"Fabian…" Kathy tried.

"I…I…I've got go home." He said abruptly taking off down the hall.

"Someone should go stop him. He has no way home!" Margaret said in a worried voice.

"Don't worry about him, he'll be fine." Edward said mysteriously. "Dr. Reynolds, could we try the chemo? If it doesn't seem to help, we'll ask him what he wants to do."

"Of course, I'll go get it set up." Dr. Reynolds went back through the double doors.

"Kathy, I'm so sorry." Margaret said hugging her sister-in-law tight.

Ted stood and walked slowly over. Robert was dying…and there was nothing they could do. Suddenly, he too wished he could flee like Fabian. It was all just too much. He grabbed his dad's hand.

"Dad, I want to go home." He said quietly. Theodore knelt to his level. He smiled sorrowfully and pulled him into a fierce hug.

"Okay, I'll take you and Ellie home. This must be too much for you two being as young as you are. We'll come back and visit when Dr. Reynolds says it's okay."

"Okay, thanks." Ted mumbled. Theodore held his hand and then picked up Ellie.

"Margaret, I'm going to take the kids home. Do you want to stay or come too?" Theodore asked.

"I'll stay, I can't stand not knowing." Margaret kissed them all good bye. The last thing Ted remembered before he fell asleep in his bed was of Robert lying on the ground shaking like a man wracked with poison.

They didn't come for a week. Ted was terrified that his aunt or uncle would come telling them Robert was no longer with them. When he went into the hospital room he was kept in, he felt his fears may have been unjustified. Robert seemed perfectly normal. He was sitting up, the radio was on and he was gazing at the window at the duck pond. When he came in, Robert turned toward him. He smiled.

"Is that you, Teddy?" he asked. Ted thought that an odd question.

"Yes…" he said uncertainly.

"Are you alone?" Robert asked. Again, it was a strange question.

"Yes, you wanted to talk to me?" Ted replied.

"Yes, could you shut the door?" Robert asked. Ted did as he was asked. "Good, come over here and sit next to me. I have something very important to tell you."

Ted came over hesitantly. Robert's right arm was twitching like it had a bad itch. Ted sat in the chair beside his cousin's bed. Robert cleared his throat.

"I asked you to come because I don't think I'm going to live very much longer." He started. Ted felt goose bumps on his arms.

"What do mean? You seem fine to me!" Ted exclaimed. Robert chuckled.

"Teddy, I'm far from fine. If you haven't noticed, I can't see. I've gone blind." Robert said. Ted didn't know what to say. "I can't smell either. I'd give anything to smell a fart again."

"Thanks for the information." Ted said in disgust. Robert chuckled again.

"The point is I'm losing everything I was used to. I can barely control anything anymore. I can't lift a tea cup; I can't control my bowels, or at times, even my lungs. Let's face it. My body has gone into slow mo shut down." Robert sighed. "But that's not what I wanted to tell you. Teddy, in about a week or so, you're going to get a big parchment letter from Hogwarts. It's the school I've been going to. I can't explain everything, it'll ruin the surprise, but I can guarantee you, it'll seem like a hoax. It's not, it is very real. I want you to go there, kind of like a last request. My other request is that you do everything I couldn't. Lame as it sounds, I wasn't the smartest kid, or the most popular. I never even had a girlfriend. Promise me you'll have what I didn't. Don't get a dead end job and marry someone you love. Got all that?" Robert asked.

"I think so…" Ted began.

"Good, the most important is not allowing anything to stop you from going to Hogwarts, okay?" Robert interrupted.

"Okayyyy….." Ted said.

"Good, now, I need some rest. Just talking these days tires me. I love you, Teddy, remember that." Robert said, leaning against his many pillows.

"I love you too, Robby." Ted said hugging him. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. Now go on, let me sleep before I pull my sword on you." Robert joked. Ted cracked a small smile and headed toward the door. He had his hand on the handle when he turned back to Robert.

"Nice haircut by the way, bald suits you quite nicely." He teased. Robert smiled.

"It's the Tonks head." He yawned. He was asleep before Ted got out the door.

Ted would never forget July 15, 1961. At 9:00 in the morning, they got a call saying Robert was being pulled. Robert's parents had finally succumbed to his rather weak pleadings to just let him go. He was sick of suffering. The chemo had proved useless at his advanced stage and he hated the way it made him feel.

So, at 10:00, they shut off the machines. They waited patiently with their only son, insisting they stay with him until his final breath. By 10:01 he was pronounced brain dead. By 10:02, he was gone. At 11:00, crying softly to herself, Ellie went to fetch the mail. There was a big parchment envelope for Ted. He took one look at it and burst into tears.


	2. Love, Me

Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. Andromeda and Ted are some of my absolute favorite characters. For some reason, I have a fascination with barely mentioned characters. Anyhow, I love the story behind these two. One has been taught to hate the other, and yet, they have an amazing daughter and they love each other so much that they gave everything up. The questions I'm going to answer? How did this relationship blossom? Why have only one child when it is obvious that they love each other more than life? Enjoy my take on this amazing couple and please review! It helps to know what the readers want!

Chapter 2: Love, Me

_If you get there before I do don't give up on me._

_I'll meet you when my chores are through, I don't know how long I'll be_

_But I'm not gonna let you down, darling wait and see_

_And between now and then, till I see you again I'll be lovin' you_

_Love, Me_

The Black Mansion was alight with candles, guests and chatter. It was their annual summer "brunch." All the pureblood loyalists would gather at the mansion and have a go at Muggles and muggleborns. It was the same thing every year: "Let's dispose of these filthy thieves of magic." "We really should do something about that ridiculous Code of Secrecy." "I say we kill the lot and come out of hiding." And so on. Yet every year, they did nothing and continued to whine about the downhill turn the ministry had taken.

Out in the back garden, a small shadow crept toward the wire fence. It was a little girl dressed in a stunning gown from the late 1800's. (Wizards still had not realized it was the twentieth century.) Her small feet made no noise, as she had taken off her shoes on the back porch and hid them in the bushes. She hated getting dressed up and hated her parents' silly parties (even if she had never been to one, she just happened to know all of the guests and she didn't care for any of them.) In this little girl's opinion, the grownups were all very whiny and immature. They acted like two year olds who throw a fit every time they don't get what they want.

She was nearly to the fence when someone stepped out from behind the rose bush resting against the fence. The girl started to scream when she realized it was only her uncle. _Busted_. She stopped in her tracks and pouted. Her uncle chuckled.

"What are you doing, Andromeda? Shouldn't you be at your party?" Uncle Alphard asked.

"I suppose so, it's not like they'd notice I was gone though." Andromeda muttered.

"True, still, it is quite rude to leave your guests." Uncle Alphard said.

"Well, what are you doing out here?" Andromeda said.

"Ah, very clever, turning the argument on me." Uncle Alphard said approvingly. "I was on my way home. I don't much care for these get togethers."

"Then why do I have to go?" Andromeda asked.

"Good question, give me a reason why you shouldn't go back to your house? You know what, don't answer that. Why don't you come over to my flat with me?" Uncle Alphard suggested. Andromeda smiled.

"I'd love to!" she exclaimed.

"Annie, where are your shoes?" Uncle Alphard asked trying not to smile. Andromeda looked sheepishly at her once white tights now covered in grass stains.

"Erm, in the begonias." She said. Uncle Alphard laughed.

"That's my little Annie, never wearing shoes." He lifted her over the wire fence. "Wow, you weigh as much as a ton of bricks."

"The last time you picked me up I was four." Andromeda pointed out.

"You aren't four?" Uncle Alphard teased. Andromeda giggled.

"No, I'm eleven!"

"Eleven that means you're going to Hogwarts this year." Uncle Alphard said thoughtfully.

"Yep, Bella told me I would be disowned if I didn't get into Slytherin, is that true?" Andromeda asked. Uncle Alphard looked grim. He hopped the fence and took her hand, leading her to the Apparition point.

"I would be more worried if you were Walburga's daughter. Your parents aren't quite so radical. They wouldn't care if you made Ravenclaw so long as it isn't Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. Not that it should matter. Hold on tight." Andromeda gripped her uncle's arm tightly. She had never Apparated before and she didn't want to get Splinched. He spun right and they were swept into what felt like a compressed tube. Andromeda would scream except her lungs were squeezed too much and she couldn't get a breath in. In the blink of an eye they were in front of Uncle Alphard's flat. Andromeda gulped in great lung fulls of air as her uncle began to search for his key.

"Where did I put that blasted key?" he grumbled digging through his pockets.

"How about the keyhole?" a woman asked. Alphard looked up. Andromeda thought the woman was very pretty. She had long golden hair, bright blue eyes, and small dimples in her cheeks. Any man would have fallen at her feet trying to get her attention, yet Uncle Alphard took his key and unlocked his flat without a glimpse at her.

"Thanks Elinor, I really should put this on a chain." He thanked her. "Come on Andromeda."

"I didn't know you had a daughter." Elinor said as Andromeda started to follow her uncle.

"I don't, she's my niece. This is Cygnus's second child, Andromeda." He introduced rather reluctantly.

"Well aren't you divine. You will be quite the catch in a few years. The boy who marries you will be very lucky indeed." Elinor crooned.

Andromeda blushed. No one had ever thought she'd get a man at all. Her family thought she was rather hopeless and destined to be lonely like Uncle Alphard. She didn't get many compliments.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"Yes, well, she hasn't eaten dinner yet, so if you don't mind." Alphard ushered his niece inside and shut the door. He hurried into the kitchen. Andromeda watched him carefully.

"That was awfully rude, you know." She began. Uncle Alphard sighed.

"I know, but she's been trying to court me ever since I she moved here." He answered.

"What's wrong with that?" Andromeda asked. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Annie, I can't give her what she needs. For one, I could never love her. For another, she's a Muggle; she'd be in danger if the family ever found out. I couldn't do that to her. Third, I've made one too many mistakes where women are concerned and I'm not all too eager to do that again. Is macaroni and cheese okay?"

"Sure, I've never had it before." Andromeda said.

"You'll love it, trust me." Alphard said busying himself in the kitchen. Andromeda looked around her uncle's small flat. The living room was plastered in pictures. There were tons of their family picnics, the only time you saw any of the Blacks smiling and laughing like a real family. Andromeda was in a lot of pictures with her little cousin Sirius. He was only four, but he was very photogenic, or so Uncle Alphard said, hence all the photos of Sirius. There was a picture of Bella being knocked over by a wave while their father ran to save her. She looked none too thrilled about the situation. There was one of all the kids burying Uncle Orion in the sand and Regulus crying because he thought they'd lost his father.

Andromeda looked farther past these photos and saw a group that depicted a bunch of smiling boys. She had never seen pictures of her uncle when he was younger. He looked really happy with his friends. Andromeda had never seen her uncle look so…carefree. He always seemed so sad. She passed these and came to tons of regal family portraits. There was her family, Cygnus, Druella, Bellatrix, herself, and Narcissa. Then there was one of Sirius's family; Uncle Orion, Aunt Walburga, Sirius, and Regulus. The biggest one was of her father's family; Grandpa Pollux, Grandma Irma, Father, Aunt Walburga, and Uncle Alphard. Annoyed for an unknown reason, Andromeda moved on to a china cabinet. Her mother had one full of priceless family heirlooms, but Uncle Alphard didn't have a scrap of expensive items in his. It was full of portraits, portraits of a beautiful woman with blonde hair that fell in soft waves to her waist. Her eyes were like pieces of the sky, bluer than anything Andromeda had ever seen. She had creamy white skin, dimples, and full red lips. Even Elinor could not compare to this model.

"Uncle Alphard, who is this?" Andromeda asked, curiosity burning in her. She had never seen someone so…angelic, so ethereal.

"Who?" Uncle Alphard called.

"The woman in your china cabinet. How come I've never seen her?" Andromeda reached toward the glass to one of the pictures of the woman on the beach in a sun dress and sun bonnet. Uncle Alphard peered around the door. He sighed and came to stand beside his niece.

"She's no one, just a model." He said quietly.

"No she's not; you sound too sad for her to have been just a model. Was she a friend?" Andromeda asked. Uncle Alphard steered her to the couch.

"There is a long complicated story behind her. I'm not sure I'm ready to tell it." He said carefully.

"Maybe you'll feel better if you do." Andromeda continued.

"You won't stop pestering me until I tell you, huh?" he asked with a small chuckle. Andromeda shook her head. "Okay, it starts when I was about your age…"

Alphard Black sat alone in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. Cygnus had disappeared with his friends some time ago to talk about a recent engagement in the pureblood "club" as Alphard liked to call it. Walburga would have nothing to do with either of her brothers, not that either one of them were all too sorry to see her gone, she was rather bossy and deranged. She was more interested in Hogsmeade and future picks for a husband.

So here Alphard sat alone, aware that he must be Sorted into Slytherin or face his family's wrath. He must act like he believes that muggleborns are scum on the bottom of his shoe. He had his brother and sister to live up to. He watched the scenery go by miserably. There was no way he could do all that. He didn't think muggleborns were scum, just different. He wasn't very ambitious (or evil for that matter) so how would he ever make it into Slytherin? He certainly didn't have his brother's charm or wit and he was not frightening enough to be popular like his sister. He felt like he was headed for his doom…his very short life's end.

"Is anybody sitting here?" a girl asked. Alphard whipped around. The girl was very pretty. She had short blonde hair that curled at the ends. He shook his head. She smiled and lugged her cat in. Alphard couldn't help but notice that her eyes were the same color as the sky. She sat down across from him.

"I'm Gabrielle Mason," she said holding out her hand. Alphard mentally shook himself. She wasn't pureblood, otherwise he would know her, and so he had to act indifferent.

"Alphard Black," he grunted, ignoring her hand and looking back out the window. Instead of being turned off, like Alphard had hoped she would, she began to giggle. Alphard watched with a quirked eyebrow. She had a cute laugh…that he shouldn't be thinking about.

"What's so funny?" he snapped. Gabrielle sobered.

"Nothing," she mumbled. Alphard suddenly felt guilty. She didn't know he hated his name, or that he was supposed to hate her.

"I'm sorry, a lot of people make fun of my name so I get defensive." He apologized. Gabrielle smiled.

"It's okay, my brother Albert is the same way." She replied. Alphard was taken aback by her sudden changes in mood. It was unnerving…yet attractive. He had never thought a girl was attractive before.

"Are you from a wizarding family?" she asked.

"Yes…are you?" He was afraid of the answer. She was too pretty to be muggleborn.

"No, my father's a lawyer and my mother says at home." Gabrielle said.

"Oh," Alphard said disappointed. He had been so foolish to think she was half-blood. Something inside him screamed _RUN! She's not one of us!_ He couldn't though. He was naturally inquisitive and he couldn't pass up an opportunity to learn something new. He needed proof for his rebellious family that muggleborns were just like everyone else.

"So, um, you have a brother, any other siblings?" he asked shyly.

"Kyle's my big brother and I have a big sister named Wendy. I'm the only one with magic though." Gabrielle answered enthusiastically.

"Sometimes I wish I was. My brother Cygnus likes to practice on me." Alphard pouted. Gabrielle giggled.

"Cygnus?"

"It's a family name, don't ask," he said, but Alphard couldn't help but crack a smile. He did like to make fun of his brother's name a lot. "My sister's name is worse. I swear my mother made it up. Her name is Walburga and she's a downright snob."

Gabrielle giggled again. "Do you have any pets? I have a guinea pig named Freckles and my dad just bought me Patches." She said holding up her fat calico cat.

"I have an owl," Alphard said pulling down her cage. Inside was a large horned owl. "Her name is Aphrodite."

"She's gorgeous," Gabrielle breathed. "I didn't know owls were trainable."

"They're really smart but very sassy." Alphard explained.

"Is she friendly?" Gabrielle asked.

"Yep, she's the mail carrier, she has to be." Alphard answered. "Do you want to pet her?"

"Oo, yes please." Gabrielle said excitedly. As Alphard allowed Gabrielle the Muggleborn to pet his owl he found he liked her more and more. She wasn't very different from him at all. The rest of the train ride went by in a blur as they moved from topic to topic, discussing Muggle and Wizard things alike.

Then the Sorting came. Alphard knew they wouldn't be in the same House and it saddened him greatly. He had really enjoyed the limited time he had with Gabrielle. He was going to miss her. He stepped up to the stool after his name was called. Figures he'd be first. He was nervous. He didn't want to be in Slytherin. He wasn't really ambitious and he certainly didn't agree with their ethics. He would never survive. The Sorting Hat chuckled.

"Slytherin!" it shouted. Alphard sighed and hopped off the stool. He took one last glance at Gabrielle. He thought she would be sad, he had told her of Slytherin's reputation after all, but she was clapping and cheering for him. Cygnus pulled him down into the seat beside him.

"'Well done little brother, I'm very proud of you." He said. Alphard smiled, but inside he was miserable. This was going to be a hard school year. How was he ever going to be able to befriend the other boys in his year? He wasn't allowed to interact with the other Houses in a friendly manner.

Several first years later, it was Gabrielle's turn. Alphard tried to look bored. There was a long pause and then "Ravenclaw!" Gabrielle took off the Hat and dashed to the other side of the Hall.

_Well done Gabby_, Alphard thought.

"You see Alphie, piece of cake." Cygnus said the next morning as they entered the Great Hall. Alphard grimaced at the use of his nickname. He hated it. Cygnus had insisted on showing him exactly how to get everywhere. It was rather annoying.

"Al!" Alphard's blood went cold. Gabrielle didn't know about blood purity and the whole sad affair. Cygnus bristled and rounded on her.

"What do you want you filthy little Mudblood?" he snapped. Gabrielle stopped and frowned.

"Excuse me?" Gabrielle asked in a high voice.

"Do you know her, Alphard?" Cygnus asked angrily.

"No, I don't." Alphard said coldly turning away from Gabrielle.

"Al, it's me, it's Gabby. We sat together on the train. You can't have forgotten that quickly." Gabby said in a hurt voice.

"You must have mixed him up with someone else." Cygnus snapped.

"I have not!" Gabby shouted. Alphard spun around.

"Why would I sit with a filthy little Mudblood like you?" he shouted. Tears filled Gabrielle's eyes and Alphard stormed into the Great Hall, Cygnus hot on his heels.

"Gabby, I'm sorry, but I couldn't say anything with Alphard there. Look, I'm not supposed to be friends with you." Alphard said through the cabbage they were planting in Herbology.

"Why, because my parents can't use a wand?" Gabrielle whispered furiously. "They aren't any different from you or me other than that!"

"_I_ know that, but my family won't listen." Alphard explained. "They'll just call me a blood traitor, disown me, and possibly kill me."

Gabrielle gasped and dropped her trowel. "You're not being serious. Families don't kill each other over something so trivial."

"Oh yeah? Do you want to give it a try? Let's see how I look after I tell them I'm friends with a Muggleborn. I may just turn out to be a snail." Alphard said darkly.

"That isn't funny." Gabrielle whispered.

"Well, if you want to stay my friend, we'll have to do so in secret." Alphard said.

"It worked too." Uncle Alphard said nostalgically. "We met all over the castle…usually in the dead of night. We eventually found a secret room in our fourth year that would only let us in and it was full of games…wizard and Muggle alike. It was great fun."

"I don't understand," Andromeda interrupted. "She's a Mudblood."

Uncle Alphard suddenly grew stern. "Andromeda Black, don't use that word. The proper term is Muggle-born."

Andromeda blushed and nodded.

"Now, where was I? Oh yes, fifth year…"

Alphard opened the door to the prefect's carriage. This was the last thing he had wanted. On top of school work, pretending to be friends with Garran, Michael, and Travis, and sneaking out to spend time with Gabby, being a prefect was going to exhaust him. His parents had been so proud of him. He grinned.

Sitting in the back of the carriage was Gabrielle. Maybe being a Prefect wouldn't be so bad. She didn't look up at the sound of the opening door, but fellow Slytherin Elaine Morganson had.

"Hey Alphard, I'm glad you're the Slytherin prefect. I would be just mortified if any of your friends had gotten it. They frighten me with their disgusting habits." Elaine talked a lot so Alphard just pretended to listen and under that cover he glanced at Gabby. She had changed a lot over the summer. She was taller and now had definite curves. She finally had breasts (she had been complaining all the previous much to Alphard's dislike) and she had finally grown out her hair. Alphard couldn't get enough of her.

Gabrielle looked up as if she knew he was watching her. She winked then went back to the book she was reading. Alphard felt something new at this friendly gesture. Something like butterflies fluttering everywhere. Was that normal?

It wasn't until the first week had passed that Alphard really started to think on the new feelings. Something had changed in him and people started to notice. Some even began speculating. Cygnus had graduated and was engaged to Druella Rosier. Maybe he was happy for them? Or it could have been Walburga's new boyfriend, Orion Black, their distant cousin. Maybe it was his recently disowned cousin, Cedrella, whom Alphard secretly envied because she had eloped with Septimus Weasley, a known blood traitor. It was none of these, and Alphard felt like he was trapped. He had fallen in love with Gabrielle.

Everything about her drew him in. Her bright blue eyes like pieces of the sky, he golden hair like spun silk, her tinkling laugh. Most of all, she understood him. She knew things even his own family would never know and that meant a great deal to him. He couldn't help but doodle her name in his book. He couldn't help but dream about her. She was constantly on his mind.

The two were on patrol when he finally decided to man up and tell her how he felt. As they walked, he twisted his sweaty hands together almost unconsciously. He needed to say this just right. Gabby grabbed his hands.

"Al, stop, you're annoying me. What's wrong?" she asked. Alphard gulped silently.

"There's something I need to tell you." He finally said.

"I kind of figured." Gabby laughed that tinkling laugh he loved so much.

"Yeah…" Alphard laughed nervously. _Don't blow it…_

"Al?" Gabby inquired.

"We're really good friends, right?" Alphard said. Gabby furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yes, the best…where are you going with this?"

"No where, I was just…"

"Well spit it out." Gabby laughed.

"Iwanttobeyourboyfriend." He said in a rush. He blushed furiously.

"I beg your pardon?" Gabby asked. Alphard took a deep breath.

"I want to be your boyfriend." He said slowly. Gabby just stared. Alphard was completely embarrassed. He wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

"My boyfriend?" Gabby finally whispered. Alphard nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak. Another pause. Then, very slowly, Gabby smiled.

"I thought you would never ask." She said. Alphard was so happy he didn't even think. He simply closed the gap and tenderly pressed his lips to hers. He had never tasted anything so sweet.

"You kissed her?" Andromeda said in childish disgust. Uncle Alphard laughed.

"Yes and more than once. After Hogwarts, we moved in together. We had planned on getting married." He said. Andromeda blinked.

"What do you mean, had?" she asked. Uncle Alphard suddenly grew very sad.

"Your Aunt Walburga…" he whispered.

"Why, this robe looks exquisite on you Mr. Black. You will look resplendent at your wedding." Madam Malkin said happily admiring her work.

"I daresay he shall."

Alphard spun around and glared. "What do you want, Walburga?"

"I came to get Druella's new robes. She can't leave the mansion pregnant. No one should see a woman like that, it's a repulsive idea." Walburga answered tartly. Alphard rolled his eyes.

"Who are you marrying anyway, none of the family was informed." She pressed.

"That's because none of you are invited." Alphard said through clenched teeth. Walburga's jaw dropped.

"That's absurd, we're your family!"

"It's my wedding, I'll invite whomever I want." Alphard snapped.

"Mother and Father will not approve!" Walburga cried.

"It's my life! Besides, they wouldn't come anyway." Alphard grumbled.

"And why not?" Walburga demanded.

"Hey, Sweetheart, are you done?" Gabby froze her hand in one of the many bags she carried. Walburga's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"You're marrying a Mudblood!?" she screeched. Alphard's wand was out faster than a bullet.

"Say that again." He threatened. Walburga frowned.

"You better watch your back or you might find your filthy bride dead in a gutter you filthy blood traitor." With that, Walburga stormed out of the shop forgetting Druella's robes.

"Alphard, please don't cause any trouble. I don't want to have to constantly look over my shoulder." Gabby pleaded. Alphard pulled her close.

"Don't worry, I won't let her hurt you." He promised.

"How could you!" Andromeda shrieked.

"Annie sweetheart, I loved her-" Uncle Alphard began.

"Not you, Aunt Walburga. You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't even flaunt your fiancée to get back at them. And you're her little brother." Andromeda pouted. Uncle Alphard and smiled and hugged his niece. The macaroni dinner lay forgotten and cold on the table.

"Should I finish the story? I'm afraid it doesn't have a happy ending." Andromeda looked up at her uncle's sad face.

"I want to hear the end. I need to know what happened." She said determination written on her face. Uncle Alphard smiled. Maybe he'd be able to change her mind. Maybe this special little girl would break the trend.

Alphard didn't know why he had agreed to come to the Black Mansion. Yes, his brother had a new baby girl, Andromeda, but he didn't really care. Cygnus and Alphard had never been close and he already had another daughter two years previously. Yet, Cygnus had sounded so proud and happy in his letter and that made Alphard suspicious. So, he stood on the front porch prepared to knock. A little girl opened the door.

"Bellatrix, what did I tell you about opening the door?" Cygnus scolded picking the two-year-old up. Alphard tried to smile. He felt uneasy.

"Hey Alphie, why don't you come in, we're all in the sitting room." Cygnus said warmly. His brow creased in concern. "Alphie, what's the matter?"

"Nothing, I-I have to go, I'm sorry. Congratulations," Alphard turned to leave.

"So soon, you haven't even seen Andromeda yet!" Cygnus said.

"I think I'll live. You didn't ask me to come see Bellatrix when she was born." Alphard said walking away.

"Stupefy!" Cygnus shouted. The spell hit Alphard square in the back and he lost consciousness. When he came to, he was in his brother's sitting room. The first thing he noticed was Gabby in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Thanks for coming dear brother." Walburga cackled.

"Alphard…" Gabby whispered clearly in pain. She winced. He knew the signs, they had used the Cruciatus Curse on her.

"What have you done to her?" Alphard croaked.

"Gotten her friendly with my favorite spell," Walburga grinned nastily. Alphard grew angry. _You better watch your back or you might find your filthy bride dead in a gutter you filthy blood traitor._

"I get it, you're angry with me, so let Gabrielle go and torture me instead." Alphard begged.

"I'm afraid we can't do that son." Pollux said. "You won't learn your lesson that way." He signaled to Walburga. She turned her wand on Gabrielle.

"Please, leave her alone! She's not to blame!" Alphard shouted. Pollux put his daughter's wand arm down. For a moment, Alphard thought his father would let them go.

"Cygnus, why don't you go first?" he said quietly. Cygnus came forward and pointed his wand at his baby brother. Alphard looked him the eye, willing him to stop. Cygnus faltered, but didn't give in.

"Sterilous!" he shouted. A flash of yellow light hit Alphard in the abdomen. It was like a thousand knifes were cutting him up from the inside out. He could vaguely hear his family laughing…and his Gabby sobbing…

When the spell had finished its job, Alphard was pulled to his feet and held tight by his father and brother.

"Now it's time to watch your beloved Mudblood die." Pollux whispered in his ear. Alphard attempted to struggle but he was too weak. Walburga had turned again to Gabby.

"Please…" Gabby begged, tears streaming down her face. Walburga just smiled.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"No!" Alphard broke loose and grabbed his sister by knees toppling them to the floor, but the spell found its mark.

Uncle Alphard was too overcome to continue. Andromeda hopped off her stool and hugged him. She was absolutely disgusted by her family. They had used her to hurt her uncle. She would never forgive them.

"I really should get you home. Your parents will be furious if they can't find you…or your shoes." Uncle Alphard said. Andromeda nodded. "Will you promise me something, Annie?" he asked.

"Yes, Uncle Alphard?"

"Don't ever let your family control you. You don't want to end up broken hearted and alone like me. You can befriend who you like, fall in love, and get a job, no matter what they say."

Andromeda nodded. "I can do that."


	3. That Don't Impress Me Much

Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. Andromeda and Ted are some of my absolute favorite characters. For some reason, I have a fascination with barely mentioned characters. Anyhow, I love the story behind these two. One has been taught to hate the other, and yet, they have an amazing daughter and they love each other so much that they gave everything up. The questions I'm going to answer? How did this relationship blossom? Why have only one child when it is obvious that they love each other more than life? Enjoy my take on this amazing couple and please review! It helps to know what the readers want! The rest of the chapters will be written half in Ted's point of view and half in **Andromeda's** point of view. 

Chapter 3: That Don't Impress Me Much

_I've known a few guys who thought they were pretty smart  
But you've got being right down to an art  
You think you're a genius-you drive me up the wall  
You're a regular original, a know-it-all  
Oh-oo-oh, you think you're special  
Oh-oo-oh, you think you're something else_

_Okay, so you're a rocket scientist  
That don't impress me much  
So you got the brain but have you got the touch  
Don't get me wrong, yeah I think you're alright  
But that won't keep me warm in the middle of the night  
That don't impress me much_

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Mother asked for the hundredth time. I rolled my eyes as I buckled myself into the backseat of our station wagon.

"For the last time, Mother, yes." I snapped angrily. "Robert asked me to do this."

"I know, but…" Mother began.

"Drop it, Mum." Ellie snapped. Our mother fell silent. I glanced at my sister as out father started the engine but she didn't look at me. She was sitting as far away as possible from as her seat belt allowed. She was furious with me. The day Robert had died, I had received a letter. The letter had told me that I had been accepted at a school of magic. When my mother had seen the letter, she immediately crossed herself saying it had to be a horrible joke. My father said nothing, but Ellie had been more than willing to speak her mind. She had yelled and screamed saying that I could have saved out cousin.

I knew that wasn't the case…and so had Robert. If it had been possible Robert could have saved himself and there would have been no incident at all, for he had nearly finished his wizard training. He had been going to Hogwarts School for six years before the brain cancer had ended his life. Robert had asked me to attend Hogwarts as his dying wish and I couldn't say no. I'd get to see Fabian again, I'd get to learn what Robby had and maybe I would feel better about the whole ordeal of Robby's death if I had magic to distract me.

My mother wasn't making it easy though. She constantly harassed me to stay home saying I would become one of the Devil's servants if I went to a magic school. She was under the impression that Robert had given into the evil and dragged his parents and now me into the "dark abyss." I tended to ignore her. My family was Catholic...or at least that's what we claimed. My mother was the only who ever attended services because my father was a ranch hand and was gone most weekends. He also worked part time at the hospital as a secretary. Ellie and I just never wanted to go.

Ellie refused to speak to me now. I had never felt so lonely. Between my mother pestering me, my dad hardly ever being home and my sister giving me the cols shoulder, life had become dreary. I hoped that going to Hogwarts would alleviate that. I needed some friends, ones that wouldn't look at me sympathetically all the time (my parents had explained to their parents that I was too delicate for ordinary school since Robby's death.) I need to get away from my mother's scornful looks, my father's expressionless face and my sister's death glares. I needed to get away from constantly tearful aunt and my ever angry uncle.

"King's Cross Station," Father said as he parked the car in the train station's parking lot. "What platform do we take you to?" he asked opening his door. I pulled out my ticket.

"Platform nine and three quarters, 11:00," I read off.

"Ludicrous," my mother whispered. "It is obviously a scam. There is no platform nine and three quarters."

I rolled my eyes and got out. My father sighed and followed.

"Margaret, if you don't want to come in, I'll take him." He said. Mother opened her door and got out.

"I will see my son off to school, even if it doesn't actually exist." She said stubbornly. "Ellie, get out of the car. Don't think you can stay in the car by yourself."

Ellie grumbled something inaudible and got out, pointedly not looking at me. Father opened the trunk of the car and pulled my school trunk out. I reached into the back seat and pulled out my Burrowing Owl, Octavius. My mother fetched a trolley and my father placed my trunk on it and I put Octavius on the trunk. Then my father locked the car and pushed the trolley to the platforms.

When we got to Platforms nine and ten we stopped. My father looked at me questioningly. I mustered up my courage and took my trolley from my father.

"Ted, what are you doing? There is no Platform nine and three quarters!" my said.

"Yes there is," I said. "You just have to know where to find it."

Professor Dumbledore, the Transfiguration teacher (what that was) had come to my place weeks before and told me how to get onto the platform. I hadn't allowed my family to talk with us because my mother was bound to be rude and my dad would ask too many questions. I took a deep breath and ran at the brick wall separating platforms nine and ten.

"Ted!" my mother screamed but it was drowned out as I went through the wall and appeared on a platform facing a big red steam engine. Printed on the side of the engine was The Hogwarts Express. I let out the breath I had been holding. It wasn't a trick. Hogwarts was real. It really was.

A scream rent the air behind me. I turned around to see my father pulling my mother through, her eyes shut. She had been the one screaming. Ellie had followed behind them, the anger slowly sliding off her face as she took in what she had just done. She was mesmerized by the activity on the platform.

The train whistle blew. I jumped as did my family. We hurried over to the train where my father helped me load my trunk onto the luggage compartment of the train. It was really full. Then he pulled me into a hug.

"I want you to know, magic or not, I'm proud of you, son." He whispered. Tears stung my eyes. Father had never praised me before. Ellie was his pride and joy.

"Thanks, Dad, that means a lot." I said. "And thanks for backing me up with Mum."

"No problem, now go rock the socks off of that school." He smiled at me. My mother then rushed at me.

"Please be careful and don't forget to write." She cried.

"I won't Mum," I said hugging her as she sniffled. When she let go, I turned to get on the train but Ellie rushed at me and gave me a bone crushing hug.

"Ellie, I can't breathe…" I gasped.

"I'm so sorry I've been such a jerk! I suppose I was just jealous and upset and please don't forget me!" Ellie wailed. I hugged her.

"I could never forget my favorite sister." I said.

"I'm your only sister." Ellie said,.

"Good thing too, I don't think I could handle another hug like that in a row." I laughed.

"Ted, you really should get on the train, it's starting to move." Dad said. I nodded and rushed to the nearest steps and climbed on. I went to a window and waved until my family was out of sight. Once I could no longer see them, I decided it was time to find a seat. I hadn't gotten far when I came across a compartment with just a boy my age in it. I opened the door and he looked up.

"Can I join you?" I asked. He smiled.

"Sure, I'm Todd Riley," he said.

"I'm Ted Tonks," I said.

"Cool, you must be a muggleborn. I have so many questions…" but he was cut off as a scream was cut off in the hallway. I looked out the window. A girl our age was being bullied. I couldn't stand bullies so I jumped up to help her.

"Ted, don't, she'll eat you alive!" Todd said. Why would a little girl be more worrisome than the two huge teenagers bullying her? I didn't know, but I would soon find out.

**I sat quietly by the window watching the scenery go by. Bella sat beside me flirting with Thorfin Rowle and Andre Martin on the other side. Bella didn't date; she had "flavors" which I guess meant something really dirty. Bella wouldn't tell me.**

** I was trying not to listen to their conversation, but I couldn't block it out. Andre's father had murdered a muggle for stumbling on a stone and stepping on their lawn. It sickened me. Knew it shouldn't, but I couldn't forget Uncle Alphard's story. I couldn't forget that my Aunt Walburga had murdered Gabby in front of him like that. It was so heartless. **

** "You've been awfully quiet Annie, is something wrong?" Bella suddenly asked. I shook my head knowing she would leave me be if I did. Bella wasn't one to pry. **

** "I bet she's worried about the Sorting. Al first years are." Andre said. **

** "She's a Black. There's no reason for her to worry. She knows what House she's going to be in. Or are you suggesting our family is unclean, Martin?" Bella asked quietly. Andre quickly shook his head. **

** "Of course not, I…"**

** "Then shut up," Bella growled. Andre obeyed. **

** "I'm going to use the rest room." I said feeling sicker. I knew I had to go to Slytherin, but could I actually do it? Did I really **_**want**_** to be in such a hateful House? **

** "Okay, try not to touch the seat, but it you can't, use Scorchify." Bella advised. **

** "Er, thank Bella." I said uncertainly leaving the compartment. I wanted to find a compartment with no one in it, but luck was not with me. Everywhere had at least one student in it. I was ten carriages away from the one I left when things got worse. Two large Gryffindor boys stopped in front of me, not allowing me to get by. They had to be at least sixteen or seventeen. **

** "Please let me pass," I said politely trying not to show my fear. Mother told me a Black was not allowed to be intimidated or afraid. I wasn't very good at that. **

** "I don't think so. I have a score to settle with your lovely family. They killed my uncle you see and though I won't stoop so low as to kill someone, I will get revenge. So when I heard another one was starting their first year at Hogwarts, it was like Christmas came early." The taller one grinned nastily while his friend cracked his knuckles menacingly. **

** "I had nothing to do with that." I said bravely. "So leave me alone and let me pass." **

** "No, I want to see you dance." The tall one hissed. I gulped. **

** "I'm afraid you're much too tall and there's not enough room." I said. The two looked confused so I slipped between them. This didn't help me. The knuckle cracker grabbed the neck of my robes and dragged me back. I screamed, but the guy holding me placed a hand over my mouth. **

** "What should we do to her, Ian?" the one pointing his wand at me said. "Fry her little ponytail?" **

** My eyes widened and I shook my head. The two just laughed. **

** "Hey leave her alone!" someone shouted behind me and the bully holding me. He whipped around and I could see the kid properly. He was a first year boy I had never seen before. He had light brown hair, a spattering of freckles on his nose and cheeks, pale skin and bright blue eyes. **

** The two bullying Gryffindor's laughed. **

** "What are you going to do about it Short-stuff?" one laughed. The boy was rather small. **

** "I know karate, and I have a black belt." He said. I had no idea what karate was and frankly, I wasn't impressed by this display. The Gryffindor's did though. **

** "You expect us to believe that?" the one holding me asked. The boy squared his shoulders and got into some strange position. I felt the Gryffindor holding me tense. The boy did a few crazy moves and landed in front of the bully that was going to curse me. He stared in shock. I tried not to roll my eyes. Maybe he thought he was being smart or something. **

** "Fine, Black wins this time. Wait until your little boyfriend isn't around. We'll get you then." The bully dropped me and the two loped off. The boy offered his hand to me and helped me up. **

** "You okay?" he asked. I nodded. **

** "Thanks," **

** "Annie!" I turned around. It was Cecelia Lutokas. She was from a very old wizarding family too, but I barely knew her. Her family didn't often come to the pureblood community balls and such. "I saw what happened, are you okay?" **

** "I'm fine, who were they?" I asked. **

** "Ian Camerons and Jason Yoakum, a couple of morons. They're in my brother, Xaniel's year." Cecelia answered. "Where are you sitting? I'll join you." **

** "Er, actually, I was escaping my sister." **

** "You can sit with me." The boy offered. "There's plenty of room." **

** "Who're you?" Cecelia asked as if she had just noticed him. **

** "Ted Tonks," the boy said. "I just helped your friend." **

** "Oh," Cecelia said rather snootily. "I see," **

** "If it's alright, we'll join you." I said trying to be polite. "Anything to get away from my sister. I'm Andromeda by the way, Andromeda Black." **

** "That's a pretty name." Ted said leading me to a compartment not to far away. Cecelia sulked behind us. **

** "Thanks," I said feeling my face grow warm. **

** "Does your friend have a name?" Ted asked. **

** "Yeah, it's Cecelia." I said. **

** "That's pretty too." Ted complimented. He was very sweet for eleven. "Here we are, everyone pile in. That's Todd Riley," he said pointing to a very grumpy boy in there. Cecelia froze in the doorway. **

** "I will not sit in there." She said. **

** "Why not I asked sitting by the window beside Ted. **

** "For one, Todd is a blood traitor. For another, Ted is a Mudblood." Cecelia growled. **

I wasn't sure what Cecelia had said, but the atmosphere in the compartment grew cold very suddenly. Andromeda and Todd shot out of their seats with very different expressions on their faces. Todd looked furious and Andromeda looked horrified.

"Take that back you evil bat!" Todd hissed.

"I will not!" Cecelia spat. "He's a Mudblood. Nothing better,"

Todd launched himself at Cecelia, but Andromeda caught him and shoved him back.

"Maybe we should all just calm down. Cecelia and I will find another compartment. Good day," Andromeda snapped leaving with Cecelia in tow. I stared after them in confusion.

"What was that all about?" I asked. "What's a Mudblood?"

"Ted, whatever you do, don't ever say that word." Todd said. "It's a foul name for someone with nonmagic parents. It means dirty blood. It's like gringo or Eskimo. It's a derogatory term used to make muggleborns feel inferior. You aren't whatever those pureblood fanatics think. Muggleborns are just as good as and sometimes better than those who come from a long line of wizards. Remember Ted, you are better than anyone like black or Lutokas."

"Wow, that's…Robert never mentioned…" I said in shock. I hadn't realized there was prejudice in the wizarding world, though I should have seen it coming. It was everywhere. He should have known that wizards were just like everybody else, just gifted.

"Who's Robert?" Todd asked.

"My cousin, he went to Hogwarts." I suddenly felt very uncomfortable. I didn't feel I could talk about him quite yet.

"What's a blood traitor?" I asked.

"Another foul term. It's a pureblood who like muggles essentially. I don't believe that we should all inbreed with each other to keep magic in the old families and I don't believe that we shouldn't allow muggleborns to be taught. I believe in equality." Todd explained.

"So they call you a blood traitor?" I asked confused.

"Yep," Todd said cheerfully. "Don't worry though, most of us aren't so bad. You'll find the worst of them are all in Slytherin. Salazar Slytherin, the founder of that House was all about pureblood and purging the wizarding race. He pretty much got run out by the other three."

"Wow, that's too bad." Ted said. "Who are the other three?"

"Gulping Gorgons, you don't know?" Todd asked. "Didn't a teacher come and explain it to you?"

"Professor Dumbledore came, but he was kind of vague." I said.

"That man is crazy." Todd said. "Okay, the Hogwarts founders are Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin. The story is that pretty much, they were all friends, and then Slytherin got high and mighty and hoity toity about who should be taught and the other three thought he was being ridiculous. He and Gryffindor fought and Slytherin left. Supposedly, Slytherin made a secret chamber where some monster is supposed to live to purge the school of muggleborns when the heir of Slytherin comes to school, but as far as I know, it was only opened once and I'm guessing that Heir didn't have any kids so the line died."

"There's a monster living in the school?" I asked in fear.

"I don't think so. I think it's just a myth the teachers use to scare students. I bet the time it was "opened" was just a prank to relieve wartime stress." Todd laughed.

"Wartime stress?" I asked.

"It was "opened" during World War Two." Todd shrugged.

** "Did you have to be so rude back there, Cici?" I asked as we stomped into a nearly empty compartment. Two girls looked up from the magazine they were reading. It was Witch Weekly. On the cover was a very good looking wizard. **

** "Who's that hunk?" Cecelia asked as we walked in a settled down opposite the two girls. **

** "That's Elizondo Felino. He's the new recruit Keeper for the Braga Broomfleet." **

**"Wow, he's a stud. Look at those muscles." Cecelia said. **

** "Who's your friend, Cecelia?" one of the girls with curly hair asked. **

** "Oh, this is, wait for it, Andromeda Black." Cecelia said in a stuck up kind of voice. The two girls gasped. **

** "Far out, I'm Noel Davidson." The curly-haired girl said. Andromeda liked her hair a lot. It was dark brown, sepia even, and it had an easy shine and bounce to it. Her dark brown eyes matched her hair and they seemed to sparkle with mirth. Her skin had a tan like she spent all summer at the beach. **

** "Hello," Andromeda said. **

** "I'm Melanie Guski." The other girl said boldly. She had pencil straight blonde hair that fell to her waist. She had bright blue eyes, but they looked kinder than Noel's. She also had pale skin that made her look more lively than either Andromeda's pale complexion or Cecelia's. **

** "Hello," Andromeda said feeling rather stupid for not saying more. "It's nice to meet both of you." **

** "It's nice to meet you to." Noel said. "I can't believe I'm talking to a Black. Your family is legendary." **

** "Er…thanks?" Andromeda said. **

** "What's it like to be a Black?" Melanie asked. "Is it like being a princess?" **

** "It's more like Azkaban to be honest." Andromeda said. The other three glanced at each other. **

** "What do you mean?" asked Cecelia. **

** "Well, we can't leave the house or a muggle might see us and try to talk to us, we have special lessons during the non-school days a.k.a, summer, breaks, before school. We have to always act a certain way, eat a certain way, dress a certain and it all becomes very tiring after all. We even have to be careful who we befriend, even in pureblood society. I'm surprised none of us have gone mad." Andromeda explained. "And they teach us and talk about absolutely horrid things." **

** "Wow that does sound like prison." Melanie said. "Glad I'm a Guski now." **

** "It can't be that bad. I've been to your house and you throw lovely parties." Cecelia said. **

** "They make me sick." Andromeda said. "I avoid them." **

** "Why?" Cecelia asked. "I love them." **

** "They torture innocent people just because they can and don't say they are always muggles, either, Cici, because they aren't." Andromeda interrupted herself before Cecelia could. "The year before I was old enough to go, Bella left the party early in tears because they were torturing Aunt Loretta Rosier."**

** "That's awful!" Noel gasped. **

** "That's not even the half of it. Loretta hadn't done anything wrong, they just didn't have a victim so they turned on the first person they thought of." Andromeda said grimly. **

** "That is rather sick." Melanie said. **

** "But the muggle baiting is fun." Cecelia assured the two girls. **

** "No, it's not. It's wrong and everyone of those adults know it." Andromeda snapped. Cecelia was about to argue then she shrugged her shoulders. Blacks were notoriously stubborn and she didn't feel like pointing out it was traitorous to think like that. **

I had been in awe since Hagrid the gamekeeper had come to fetch the first years. I had never seen such a big man before. Then I saw Hogwarts for the first time and I was speechless. It was such a magnificent sight. I had never seen a castle before. Then we rode in little boats across the Black Lake and I had seen the tentacle of the Giant Squid that Todd had mentioned on the train ride. I had thought it was a joke. The entrance hall to Hogwarts had been fantastic too. It was the biggest room I had ever seen, that is until Professor Dumbledore led us into the Great Hall to be Sorted.

The Great Hall was the best thing I had seen all night. It was huge. Four long tables sat vertically next to each other, each with different colors draping around them; yellow and black, gold and scarlet, blue and bronze, green and silver. The high table that lay horizontal to the others had the school's crest on it. The best part was the ceiling. It showed the night sky outside. The stars twinkled and I could make out my favorite constellation: Andromeda. He loved the story behind Andromeda, the Chained Lady.

With his mind suddenly on Andromeda, I snuck a glance at said girl. Andromeda was looking at her feet. She looked nervous. I wanted to go ask if she was okay, but then I remembered she hated me because of my parents. It stung a little that people could be so hateful. The room grew silent and Professor Dumbledore placed a dirty old wizard's hat on a stool. Suddenly, a wide tear near the bottom opened up like a mouth and began to sing.

"You okay Ted?" Todd snickered. My jaw had dropped unconsciously.

"Hats don't sing." I said. Todd laughed.

"They do in the wizarding world if you charm them to." He said with a grin. The Hat finished its song and fell silent. Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat and began reading off names.

"Abbot, Gus!" a stocky boy with blonde hair went up and sat on the stool.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat screamed. Gus Abbot then hopped off the stool and dashed to the yellow-clad table.

"Black, Andromeda!" I glanced over at her as she walked up to the front. She looked more nervous than before. She glanced at me and then quickly looked away as she sat down.

**I practically jumped when Dumbledore called my name. I was so worried. Would I make a good Slytherin? Was I going to be put somewhere else? Would the Hat force me in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff? I shuddered to think. As I thought, I felt someone's eyes on me, so I looked up. **

** It was Tonks. Shocked, I looked back down. Why had been watching me? Then I calmed down as the Hat fell over my eyes. I was being silly. **_**Everyone**_** was watching me. **

_**Too true**_** a voice said. I almost screamed. **_**Everyone's very interested to see where you will go. Now, let's see, I am not going to make the same mistake I did before with young Alphard. I'm going to put you where you belong, not where you think, you belong. **_

** I stared at the inside of the hat dumbfounded. Did that mean I wouldn't be in Slytherin?**

_**Not necessarily that Hat said or rather thought to me. I will put you there if you truly belong there. **_

_**I can't do this, I have to go to Slytherin! Mum and Dad would be furious! I wouldn't be able to show my face at home again! I wailed to the Hat**_**. It just chuckled. **

_**Not Gryffindor**_**, he said. **_**You care too much what others think which means Hufflepuff is definitely out. Oh, but you are intelligent and you have a thirst to learn. Ravenclaw would be a good place for you.**_

** I could feel myself starting to shake. Ravenclaw? Bella would laugh at me. Sure, it was better than Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, but still…it wasn't Slytherin. **

_**But do you want to be in Slytherin? **_**The Hat asked. **_**Do you truly think you belong there? **_

__**I had thought about this so much in the past couple of days that I had given myself a headache. I wasn't sure what I wanted and this Hat wasn't helping. **

_**I disagree**_** the Hat said indignantly. **_**I'll let you think on this a bit. Slytherin is cunning, pureblood, and very one minded these days. They will do whatever it takes to get what they want, be it a grade, a job, or something else. They want to brain wash you. But so does Ravenclaw. They tend to let their egos get the better of them; make them think they are smarter, though they may only be book smart. They are also quite helpful and keen to tutor those who ask for help. Both Houses are equally good. Now look in your heart, how many of those qualities do you have?**_

** I thought about this. I was definitely book smart, Bella made fun of me for reading so much when we could have been racing horses. Yet, I certainly would do anything to get what I wanted. The one thing I hated was people trying to make me think like they do. Both Houses, in fact all four houses were all brain washing themselves. **

_**This isn't helping**_** I thought irritably. The Hat chuckled. **

_**I know just where to put you**_** it said. Then he took a deep breath, ready to holler out the answer to the rest of the Hall. I gulped. **

**A/N: Dun, DUN, DUUUUUUN! Cliffhanger! Now it's up to you guys, will Andromeda be in Slytherin or Ravenclaw? I think I know which one I want to put her in, because in some other fics she is in a House already, but I've decided I'm not so sure, so cast in your votes and let me know! That means I better have TONS of reviews! Thanks for reading!**


	4. We Just Disagree

Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. Andromeda and Ted are some of my absolute favorite characters. For some reason, I have a fascination with barely mentioned characters. Anyhow, I love the story behind these two. One has been taught to hate the other, and yet, they have an amazing daughter and they love each other so much that they gave everything up. The questions I'm going to answer? How did this relationship blossom? Why have only one child when it is obvious that they love each other more than life? Enjoy my take on this amazing couple and please review! It helps to know what the readers want! The rest of the chapters will be written half in Ted's point of view and half in **Andromeda's** point of view. 

Chapter 4: We Just Disagree

_So let's leave it alone, 'cause we can't see eye to eye.  
There ain't no good guys, there ain't no bad guys.  
There's only you and me and we just disagree.  
Ooo - ooo - ooohoo oh - oh - o-whoa_

"**SLYTHERIN!" the Hat called. I sighed in relief. I was in Slytherin. I was safe. Whoa…safe from what exactly? **_**My family**_**…. Would they truly hate me if I had gotten into Ravenclaw? I didn't know nor did I care to find out. I hopped off the stool and ran to join my sister. When I looked back that Ted Tonks caught my eye. Was it just me or did he seem saddened by this? **

** "Good job Annie, I knew you would be in Slytherin!" Bella praised me giving me a one-armed hug. **

** "Thanks Bella," I said. Should I tell her that the Hat had almost put me in Ravenclaw? No…something told me not to. It would sound like I was actually worried…was I? I didn't know, it was all so confusing. I couldn't help but blame Uncle Alphard. If I wanted to survive school I wouldn't be able to follow his wishes. **

** "I'm sorry uncle Alphard," I whispered as I glared at Tonks. His eyes widened and he looked away. That'll teach you. **

I was surprised by Andromeda's glare. What had I done in the space of time it took her to be Sorted? Everyone else was watching, why didn't she glare at them too? I glanced at Todd. He had mentioned that Andromeda was from a very prominent family that didn't like people like me. Andromeda hadn't been rude to me though. Cecelia had called me that awful word. Andromeda hadn't said a word against me. In fact she had prevented a fight by suggesting she Cecelia find another compartment. She had thanked me for saving her from those bullies.

These thoughts chased around in my head as more first years were Sorted. Andromeda didn't hate me, that was obvious, but why had she glared? Too many witnesses? Her sister was sitting beside her (they looked to much alike not to be). What was it? Or was she even glaring at me? Todd was standing next to me and some other boy I had never seen before. Maybe she had glared at one of them. That had to be it.

I was momentarily distracted when Todd's name was called. I hadn't realized so many people had been Sorted already. It wasn't Todd I looked at when I heard his name. I had glanced to the side and seen a familiar face. There was Fabian Prewett sitting at the Gryffindor table beside his twin brother Gideon. Both waved when they saw me and I smiled. Some friendly faces to make me feel slightly better in this nervous environment. Fabian gave me a thumb's up.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Todd got off the stool and went to sit at the blue clad table. They looked very pompous over there or maybe it was just my imagination. Todd grinned at me and grinned back. He would fit right in. Not very long after Todd was called it was my turn. Shaking a bit, I climbed onto the stool and let the Hat fall down to my ears.

"Wow, we have a brave one here, very brave. Trying to befriend a Black? Good luck with that one. She's a handful. Shall I put you in Gryffindor? Ohhhh, but my we have some brains here. Very intelligent and a quick learner too. Hmmm, friendly that's for sure. Ambitious like your cousin…hmmm…it's got to be RAVENCLAW!"

I sighed. Ravenclaw wouldn't be so bad I suppose. Todd would be there and so would Florean Fortesque whom I met on the boat ride over. He seemed nice enough. His father owned an ice cream parlor in Diagon Alley. How could an ice cream salesman not be nice? So I wouldn't see Gideon and Fabian all the time and I wouldn't sleep where Robert slept. He wanted me here and that's all that mattered.

I sat beside Todd and he patted my back.

"Well done mate," he said.

"You too," I said.

"Can't wait to eat, I'm starved." Todd said.

"One more student and we're home free." An older student said. I looked at the boy just as he was Sorted into Hufflepuff. Then Professor Dumbledore took the Hat and stool and left the Hall. The Headmaster stood up and the Hall quieted immediately. He was very old. It looked like his skin was barely hanging on. He had friendly brown eyes though and a kind smile.

"Welcome," he said in a raspy voice. "To another year at Hogwarts. I would like to congratulate all who were Sorted tonight. Now I know you are all hungry so I will make this short: boober goober mint." With that he sat down. Several students laughed. I stared in wonder.

"Is he a bit mad?" I asked the older student.

"Professor Dippet? A bit, but it comes with age. He is 140 years old." The student said. "I'm Sean by the way, Sean Derricks."

"Ted Tonks, did you say 140?" I asked then stopped as I noticed there was food on the table. "What…?"

Sean laughed. "Don't worry; it comes onto the table like this every day. You must be muggleborn. It's just house-elves in the kitchens down below us."

"House-elves?" I asked wondering what in the world those could be. The only elves I had heard of lived in the Middle Kingdom. I couldn't picture Legolas or Arwen cooking though.

"They stand about three feet tall and have ears that resemble elephants and a nose kind of like a stick. They usually wear some sort of pillowcase or the like. They usually come with old wizarding manors, but Hogwarts is kind of like a refuge for them." Sean explained. I was strongly reminded of Dumbo and Pinocchio and no closer to understanding what a house-elf was. One things for sure, Legolas they were not.

"Oh," I said. Not wanting to try and get him to explain further I grabbed some chicken wings and a bit of roast pork and potatoes and began to eat. I hadn't realized how hungry I was. It was delicious. Once most of the food had been devoured it was replaced with desserts of all kinds. I was happy to see chocolate pudding in front of me. If I had a weakness, it was chocolate.

"Whoa, that ghost just took off his head!" Florean shouted. I looked up at the same time Sean did.

"Oh, that's Nearly Headless Nick." He said. "He's the resident Gryffindor ghost. He does that every year to show off. He's nice though, he'll help you if you get lost."

"Do we have a ghost?" I asked fascinated. Sean laughed.

"Yes, the Grey Lady," he pointed down to the end of the table where a snobby looking lady ghost sat staring down her nose at some sixth years.

"She looks…erm…" Todd didn't know what to say.

"Yeah, she's had a rough life that one. She was stabbed. I've seen the wound. She likes to show off almost as much as Nick. She never says who stabbed her though or why. She's very mysterious that one. She's helpful though when you're lost too or need a little help on homework. She's good to talk to when you're lonely too." Sean said.

"That's something at least." Todd said. I continued to stare at her. She looked very young, in her mid-twenties at most. Who would want to harm someone so young? I shivered at the thought and went back to my pudding.

_**Why me?**_** I thought as the Bloody Baron sat next to me. He was creepy enough from a distance. It was like he was trying to watch something or someone though. I couldn't tell, I was to busy dodging his ripped clothing that kept wafting through my arm and sending chills down my spine. At this moment I would kill to be in another House. **

** "Poor girl, she must be horrified to have a sister like Bellatrix," I heard someone say. "Then again, Black has probably got her sister brainwashed so she doesn't know hoe ugly and unwanted they are." **

** I looked up and saw some third year girls down the table staring at me. One with sandy-colored hair grinned nastily at me when I caught her eye. I looked down. Who was she? And why was she talking dirt about me and Bella? I didn't even know her!**

** "Look at all that hair. It must be a nightmare." The girl giggled with her friends. I felt my cheeks color. Come Andromeda you're a Black. You're face is a mask, remember? But I had never been very good at it. I could hear the girls continuing to tease me. I didn't know what to do. **

** "Hey, you three shut it!" Cecelia shouted down the table. I looked up. The three girls stopped laughing and glared at her. "Annie's never done anything to you so leave her alone." **

** "Or what?" the sandy-haired girl asked. Cecelia stood up. **

** "I have quite a few older siblings and I know quite a lot of magic already. You really don't want me cursing you." She said calmly. The three girls laughed. **

** "You're joking right?" the sandy-haired girl gasped. **

** "Lupin, I wouldn't mess with her. She's telling the truth." A boy who looked a year or so older than the sandy-haired girl said. He looked familiar. **

** "Thank you Ethan." Cecelia said sitting down. Lupin scowled and turned away from us. **

** "Cici, don't go picking fights." Ethan said. "That Romilda Lupin is a nasty piece of work. Even Bellatrix doesn't scare her." **

** "Really?" I squeaked. **

** "Don't worry; Bella isn't afraid of her either. She won't let her hurt you." Ethan reassured me. **

** "I don't see what her problem is." Cecelia said. **

** "She's a half-blood trying to pull off being a pureblood." Ethan said. "It really shouldn't matter but in this House if you aren't exactly what everyone else is you're screwed." **

** "What's wrong with being a half-blood?" I asked. My parents had never mentioned anything wrong with them. **

** "You're kidding right?" Ethan asked. I shook my head. "A Black doesn't know…wow…ok, there's nothing wrong with being half-blood if both you're parents are half-blood." **

** "Doesn't that make you pureblood?" I asked. Ethan shook his head. **

** "Not in our society, maybe to them they are, anyway, Romilda's different. Her father is a pureblood wizard, but her mother is a muggle." **

** "How do you know?" Cecelia asked. **

** "She knows an awful lot about muggle things. I think she might have mentioned it once in class or something." Ethan said. "We're in the same year you see," **

** "Fine, I'll leave her alone only and **_**only**_** if she leaves my friends alone." Cecelia said. **

** "Cici, mother won't be pleased if I bring you home in a matchbox." Ethan warned. Cecelia shrugged. **

** "Lizzy got into plenty of fights and came out all right." **

** "She fought with people her age not two years above her." Ethan pointed out. **

** "Who's Lizzy?" I asked. **

** "The eldest in our family. Didn't you know?" Cecelia asked. **

** "I've only met you, Ethan, Gavin and Mark." I said. Cecelia and Ethan laughed. **

** "Goodness, you haven't even met half of the family." Ethan said. **

** "I haven't?" I asked. Cecelia shook her head. **

** "I'm the youngest of fifteen." She said. **

** "Seriously?" I asked shocked. **

** "Seriously, you've only met the younger portion of the family. Lizzy went to school forever ago, back in the forties." Cecelia said. **

** "She wasn't the only one though." Ethan said. "Chantel is two years younger than Lizzy and I believe Lizzy is now thirty four, so that makes Chantel thirty-two." **

** "And then there's Tristan, he twenty-nine." Cecelia said. "And his twin Garret." **

** "Then there's Karen who's twenty-six." Ethan said thinking. "And Nathan who's twenty…"**

** "Four," Cecelia finished. "Then there's Daisy, Kelle, and Tiffany who are triplets. They're twenty-one." **

** "Then it's Kyle, he's eighteen. He's in Hufflepuff. He's the Head Boy this year." Ethan said pointing to a tall looking boy at the yellow-clad table. He looked much like Ethan but frecklier. **

** "And then there's Michelle, she's seventeen and in the same year as Kyle but in Ravenclaw." Cecelia said pointing to a girl with raven-colored hair and pale skin. She looked rather haughty. "She's Head Girl." **

** "You know Mark; he's a fifth year in Gryffindor. He's a prefect too." Ethan said pointing to his blonde brother sitting at the red table. **

** "And Gavin is a fourth year Ravenclaw." Cecelia said pointing out her rather short brother. **

** "And then me in third year and Cici in yours." Ethan finished. **

** "Wow, that's a lot of siblings." I said. "Do you see each other often?" **

** "All but Lizzy," Ethan said. **

** "Where is Lizzy?" I asked. Cecelia shrugged. **

** "She kind of disappeared about a decade ago. We're not sure what happened to her. She writes but there's never a return address. We have to use her owl." **

** "Why wouldn't she want to be found?" I asked. **

** "We don't know, but we think it has something to do with her boyfriend." Ethan said. "He disappeared a few years after they graduated and she kind of fell into a depression." **

** I was perplexed. Neither one seemed concerned that their sister was living in secret somewhere. It didn't strike them odd that she might be looking for her boyfriend who might very well be dead by now if he hadn't turned up already. When the desserts were finished they disappeared and Headmaster Dippet stood up. **

** "Before I let you all run off to your nice warm beds I have a few words. First, our new caretaker, Mr. Filch has posted a list of banded objects on his office door. Second, the Forbidden Forest is off limits except for class." I could have sworn he looked at the Gryffindor table for some reason. "And last no spells in the halls. Good night!" **

** There was a scraping of chairs as we all stood. Prefects began calling to first years and then we were off. The prefects we were following were Evan Rosier and Monica Rydell. Monica didn't seem too bad but Evan kind of creeped me out. They led us out the Great Hall and to the left down a staircase. Apparently our common room was in the dungeons. **

** I didn't know how far we went, but it got colder and colder until we came to a dead end. The prefects stopped and we waited. Monica stepped forward. She turned to face us.**

** "What ever you do, don't forget the password." She said. "Pureblood!" **

** The dead end wall turned out to be a door that swung forward. We all stepped through into a comfy common room draped in green. The room even seemed to glow green. **

** "We're under the Black Lake so the lighting is all natural apart from the lamps." Evan said. "Girls dormitories are straight ahead and boys are to the right down the hall." **

** There we split. Cecelia and I followed Melanie and Noel to our dormitory labeled: FIRST YEARS. Inside were five four-poster beds draped in green. Our trunks were already here and laid out for us. I went to the far end and slumped down on my bed. It was very comfortable. **

** The rest of the girls got ready for bed. Melanie squealed loudly complaining there were mice. Noel laughed and said that she brought a rat and that he was running around the room. I watched Cecelia get dressed out of the corner of my eye. She rolled her eyes and took her ponytail down. **

** "We have interesting roommates." She whispered to me. I nodded and smiled. Better than creepy ones. I sat up and opened my trunk to search for one of my nightgowns. Another girl walked in and went to the bed on the other side of Cecelia's. She looked sad. I could have sworn her eyes were red. Cecelia seemed to notice. **

** "Hello," she said kindly. "I'm Cecelia Lutokas. Are you okay?" **

** "Oh, hello, I'm f-fine." The girl hiccoughed. I stood and watched her carefully. She looked ready to burst into tears very soon. Melanie and Noel looked over. I walked over and touched the girl's shoulder. **

** "You know, we're going to be your roommates for seven years. I think it's okay for us to confide in each other. I'm willing to listen." I said. The girl gave me a watery smile. **

** "Thanks, I don't think I'm ready to talk just yet. But I'll come to you when I can. I'm Caterina Cortez." **

** "Andromeda Black," I said. Caterina's eyes widened. **

** "Are you really a Black?" she asked taking a step back. I felt funny. **

** "Yes," I said confused. **

** "I'm not sure I can tell you ever." Caterina said not looking me in the eye. **

** "She's not like the rest of her family, trust me." Cecelia said brushing her hair and hopping into bed. Melanie and Noel had already lost interest and gone to bed. **

** "I promise, I won't tell anyone when you're ready. I never tell anyone secrets." I said. **

** "Thanks, I think I'll go to bed now. I'm exhausted." Caterina said giving me one last smile before going to the bathroom to change. I sighed and got dressed and climbed into bed. I pulled the curtains around my bed. Why was everyone either afraid of me or disgusted by me? What had Bella done? Or was it even her? Had our parents or aunts and uncles done something? **

I followed our prefects Andy and Kaylie up seven flights of stairs before we reached a tower door with a funny little doorknob on it. I waited for the prefects to give a secret password or something but they just stood there. Then the doorknob spoke. I jumped as did a few others.

"What is the difference between wolfsbane and monkshood?" it asked. I stared wolfs-what and monks-what?

"Nothing, they are the same plant." Andy replied.

"Correct," the doorknob said as the door swung open.

"You have to answer the question correctly to get in?" Todd asked.

"Yep," Kaylie said.

"And if you get it wrong a girl asked.

"You have to wait until someone else comes along or try again. That's how you learn." Andy said. Todd and I exchanged a glance. I hated answering questions in primary school. Hopefully I was never at that door alone.

"Okay, boy's dormitories up the left staircase, girl's up the right staircase." Kaylie said. "Am I missing anything?"

"Nope, good luck tomorrow." Andy said walking away with Kaylie. Todd and I went up the boy's staircase. There was a sign that read: FIRST YEARS. We walked through the door. Two boys had already beaten us up here. One looked up. He was tall and very pale. He looked very friendly.

"Hi, I'm Dylan Tafoya; you guys must be our roommates." He said shaking our hands. "That's Derek Meyers."

Derek waved from his trunk.

"He lost his toad." Dylan said.

"He lost what?" I yelled hoping on the nearest bed and toppling over the edge in my clumsiness. Todd laughed.

"Wow Ted, what was that?" he asked helping me to my feet. I immediately climbed back on the bed.

"I don't like toads." I said. "I don't much like amphibians really,"

Todd laughed again. "I've heard of amphibian-phobia."

I frowned. "It's not funny. One hopped right out my birthday cake when I went to cut it."

Todd howled with laughter and Dylan chuckled. Derek lifted his hand up in triumph. "Found you! I'm going to have to get a leash for you Melvin." He looked over at his laughing roommates and my bright red face. "What's so funny?"

"Ted's afraid of toads!" Todd gasped. Derek cracked a smile.

"Aw, come on they aren't that bad. They're amazing escape artists and great at pest control." Derek said bringing Melvin over. I backed up.

"I get that, but I don't want it near me and please don't let it escape." I begged. Derek shrugged laughing. "I'll try no guarantees though." He said going over to a tank and putting his pet in it and sealing the lid. I relaxed and slid off the bed.

"What's going on in here?" Florean asked as he saw me relax and Todd was still laughing.

"Ted's afraid of toads." Dylan said. Florean paused.

"Oh, really? That's too bad. I was hoping you'd like Marvin." Florean said pulling out an even bigger toad than Melvin. I shrieked and hopped back on the bed making Todd laugh so hard he collapsed on the floor. Florean chuckled too.

"So, where's my bed?" he asked.

The next day I had calmed down considerably. Florean and Derek and their little monsters were on the other side of the room from me. They still teased me, and I was thankful that Dylan didn't seem to find it funny anymore. He didn't say anything at least. The five of us walked down to the Great Hall…or we tried to but we got lost at least four different times before we found the marble staircase that led to the lower levels.

Once in the Great Hall, Derek went to go join his older brother Andrew. I was going to join my new friends when Fabian hailed me from the Gryffindor Table. Dylan, Todd and Florean said they'd save me a spot and I went to talk to Fabian.

"How are you liking Hogwarts?" Fabian asked when I sat down. I shrugged.

"I could do without the toads and ten million corridors and staircases." I said. Fabian laughed.

"Yeah those staircases are awful, but you'll learn quick enough." He said. "How are you holding up in general?"

I heard the double meaning. How are doing since Robert died? I sighed.

"Okay I guess," I said. "It's not so bad now."

"I know what you mean." Fabian said. "I've had about six people ask me where he is and I got too choked up to tell him. You see that girl down there? The one with the dark curls?"

I looked down the table to see a very pretty girl with thick curls. I nodded.

"That's Caroline, she was Robert's girlfriend." Fabian said. My jaw dropped. Robby had a girlfriend and he hadn't told me?

"Does she know?" I asked. Fabian shook his head.

"I don't know how to tell her. You have no idea what kind of relationship they had."

I stood up.

"Where are you going?" Fabian asked.

"She needs to know," I said going over to Caroline. I cleared my throat and she looked away from her friends.

"Hello," she said. "Do I know you?"

"No, but you know my cousin." I said. "I'm Ted Tonks."

She smiled. "Oh, you're Robert's cousin! Where is he? I didn't see him at the feast."

"He won't be coming this year." I said. Her smile faded.

"What do you mean?" she asked. I bit my lip. I hadn't talked about Robby since he died. She could see me struggling. She helped me sit down.

"What happened?" she whispered. I took a deep breath.

"He got something called cancer." One of her friends gasped. She must be muggleborn. I continued. "It's a horrible disease. The cells that make up your body don't reproduce right and they become sickly. He got it in his brain. It slowly made him brain dead."

Caroline gasped. I could see tears in her eyes. "Is he in St. Mungo's?" she asked. I shook my head, tears filling my eyes too.

"He died last month." I said. Caroline's hands left me and covered her mouth. "I would have told you sooner, but he never mentioned you."

"Oh Caroline," her friend sitting beside her wrapped an arm around her comfortingly. She shook it off and looked at me. Then she did something I didn't expect. She hugged me.

"Thank you for telling me. I wondered why Fabian looked so sad. It must have been hard on you. I think it's time to go to class though." She stood quickly and left with her friends. I couldn't tell whether she hated me or not. Girls were very confusing. Fabian came over.

"I can't believe you told her." He said. I shrugged and wiped my eyes.

"She had to know. It was only fair. She noticed you were upset. She was worried." I said. Fabian nodded.

"Mr. Prewett, your schedule." It was Professor Dumbledore. He smiled at me. "Hello Mr. Tonks, I believe Professor Flitwick is handing out schedules now too."

"Oh, yes, bye Fabian."

"Bye,"

I hurried over to the Ravenclaw Table just as an extremely short old man. He was strongly reminded of Gimli. He sat down and Professor Flitwick handed me my schedule. I glanced down at it. It was the weirdest schedule I had ever seen. Today was Tuesday. I had double Transfiguration with Slytherin, Charms with Hufflepuff, lunch, Flying with Slytherin and Astronomy with Gryffindor at midnight. Maybe I would get the chance to talk to Andromeda about our little misunderstanding.

When we all finally found the Transfiguration classroom, we had about ten minutes before class started. We walked in and Dylan and Derek sat in the front left. Florean sat behind them next to a girl I learned was his cousin Marlene Laredo. I was about to go join them when I saw Todd smile evilly. I followed his gaze and saw Cecelia. I had a bad feeling about this.

"Come on Ted, we're going to get back at her for calling you that awful name." Todd said hurrying over to her. He sat in the empty seat beside her. She looked up and frowned.

"Sorry, but this seat is taken." She sneered.

"Funny, I don't see anyone's name on it nor is anyone's stuff sitting here." Todd said. "So it's a free seat and I'm going sit. Ted, sit next to me." He said indicating the desk beside him. I sat thinking this wasn't going to end well. Cecelia looked ready to blow.

"Look here Riley…" she began.

"You know that secretly you want to be my friend." Todd interrupted with a coy wink. "Denial is just the first step to acceptance."

"I am not in denial over anything." She growled.

** I walked into Transfiguration just as Cecelia launched herself at Todd. Poor Ted leapt up from his seat and backed away looked frightened. I sighed and ran forward. I dropped my back onto Ted's table and ran to pull Cecelia off Todd. She was punching every inch of him she could reach. **

** "Cici, get off of him!" I shouted." You're going to get in trouble!" **

** Either she couldn't here me or she was ignoring me. The class was beginning together and they were shouting "Fight! Fight! Fight!" I rolled my eyes. I looked at Ted. **

** "Don't just stand there; help me pull her off of him!" I said. Ted looked at me apprehensively and then rushed to help take hold of Cecelia. I knew the moment he touched her she would forget Todd. She leapt back and hissed at Ted. **

** "Don't you dare touch me Mudblood!" **

** "Miss Lutokas," The class grew quiet and hurried to their seats. Professor Dumbledore towered over us. He looked angry. "You will not say such a word in my classroom. You will do detention tonight and then I expect you to keep a civil tongue." **

** "Yes Professor," Cecelia mumbled. **

** "Now kindly take your seats." Dumbledore said going to the front of the room. I would have sat next to Cecelia, but Todd seemed to have claimed it. No wonder she had punched him. I grabbed my bag and realized the only open seat was next to Ted. I closed my eyes and plopped down next to him. **

** "These will be your permanent seats for the year." Dumbledore said. My eyes popped open. He had to be joking. I couldn't sit next to Ted. I raised my hand. **

** "Yes Miss Black?" **

** "Are you sure we can't choose our seats?" I asked. **

** "I was under the impression that you did." Dumbledore said. Before I could respond he moved on. **

** "We are going to get to know one another through a fun Transfiguration game. We will be using Truth Squares." He picked up a cube that was multi-colored. "The one who is answering the question holds the square. If you lie, the square transfigures your nose to grow longer. Any questions? Good," Dumbledore raised his wand and sent a Truth Square to each desk. **

** "So, do you want to go first?" Ted asked. **

** "No not really," I said sourly. **

** "Ok, I will then," he said taking the Square. "It looks like a Rubik's Cube." **

** "A what?" I asked. **

** "Never mind, just ask a question," he said. I sighed. Let the torture begin.**

** "What's your middle name?" I asked in a bored voice. **

** "Ryan," **

** "What's your favorite color?" **

** "Er…blue," **

** "What's your favorite book?" **

** "Oh that's easy, The Lord of the Rings." **

** "The Lord of the Rings?" I asked wondering what in the world he was talking about. He gaped at me. **

** "You've never heard of the Lord of the Rings? It's a classic! You'll have to borrow it sometime." He said excitedly. **

** "Mmm," I said uninterested. "My turn," I took the square and waited. **

** "Um, what's your favorite color?" **

** "Silver," **

** "What's your middle name?" **

** "I don't have one. " **

** "Really?" Ted asked. **

** "Really, please keep going." I really hoped we weren't doing this the whole class period. Two hours of asking questions? Not my idea of productive. **

** "Er…What's your favorite animal?" **

** "A sugar glider." **

** "A sugar glider?" Ted laughed. I rolled my eyes and handed the square back to him. He took it. **

** "What's your favorite…" I stopped as a commotion next to us broke out. Apparently Todd thought it would be funny to lie and he now sported a rather long nose. Ted laughed. **

** "He looks like Pinocchio," I had no idea who Pinocchio was so I ignored him and finished my question. **

** "What's your favorite city?" **

** "Er…Athens," Ted said. **

** "You've been to Athens?" I asked. I had always wanted to. Ted shook his head. **

** "No, but I want to one day." He said. "I'd love to see the place where the Olympics were first held and Zeus's temple and such." **

** "Okay class, now that you've seen Transfiguration in the workings, let's learn the theory. Hopefully you know your partner quite well now." **

_**Yes**_** I thought as he collected the Truth Squares. I know my partner better than I wanted to. **_**It's going to be harder to avoid him now that I know we have something in common**_**. **

I don't know what I said, but Andromeda didn't look at me the rest of the class period. And when we met up again for flying lessons she was down at the other end. I didn't like flying so I was very surprised when the broom jumped to my hand on the first go. Andromeda's didn't respond quite as fast but she did get up. I wondered if she liked flying.

"On the count of three mount your brooms, kick off the ground and hover for a moment. Then touch back down and wait for further instruction." Professor Horner said as he examined our grips.

All in all the day would have been a total bust if it hadn't been for Arthur Weasley. I was eating dinner when the second year Gryffindor approached me. He was rather short with vivid red hair and crooked glasses. He stuck his hand out and smiled.

"Arthur Weasley, I hear you're a muggleborn."

"Er…" I said warily.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I'm asking because I'm in the Muggle club and we like as many muggleborns as possible to join the group. It's always nice to learn new things from your experience." Arthur said quickly. Todd gave him a funny look.

"Isn't your brother Billius?" he asked. Arthur looked at him.

"Yes, he is," he replied. Todd's odd expression went away and he grinned.

"I hear he's a hoot. Gets a lot of detentions but he's a nice bloke. "

"Yeah, he's got the record for most detentions or something like that." Arthur said. "He's a sixth year."

"Don't you have another brother too?" Todd asked Arthur nodded.

"Caradoc, he's two years above me." Arthur said. "He's kind of stuck up though."

"Too bad, we should join the club Ted. It could be fun." Todd said.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"The Weasleys are like me. They love muggles." Todd said.

"Well, it's mostly me, but yeah." Arthur said. Todd laughed.

"I think I may come to like you a lot Arthur."

Arthur continued to talk to Todd but I lost interest. Andromeda had just walked in and she seemed to be in a foul mood. So did he sister. I wonder what had happened. She sat down and her sister passed her to go sit with her friends. I caught Andromeda's eye and she scowled turning to Cecelia. I sighed. Was her sister angry at her for being my partner? It's not like we could control that. She needed to stop worrying about what her family wanted and think more about what she wanted. I had done just that. She would disagree of course and tell me to leave her alone. So instead of going over there and telling her what I thought, I remained in my seat and began to talk to Arthur and Todd.


	5. Meet In the Middle

**Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. This chapter is purely from Andromeda's point of view. **

Chapter 5: Meet In the Middle

_I start walking your way and you start walking mine_

_We meet in the middle 'neath that ole Georgia pine_

_We gain a lot of ground if we both give a little _

_Ain't no road too long when we meet in the middle!_

First year ended faster than I had anticipated. I passed all my classes, though I wouldn't admit that I would have failed Potions had I not bee partnered with Todd Riley. Cecelia was my closest friend, but Caterina was a good fiend too. She was quiet, something I wish Cecelia were. I'll admit, Caterina was also very secretive too and didn't tell us much about herself, but she didn't pry into our lives either so it didn't seem like a big deal.

Ted still tried to talk to me like it was okay and Todd kept playing pranks on us (mostly Cecelia to be honest) and both of us were ready to feed the boys to the Giant Squid by the end of the second term. Cecelia even had it all planned out though I wouldn't allow her to execute it as I didn't want to get expelled.

Uncle Alphard wasn't talking to me. He hadn't since I told him I couldn't be friends with Ted. He was upset that I had broken my promise and it was slowly eating away at me. We had several summer parties, but Uncle Alphard ignored me at all of them. Finally, I cornered him right before the school was to start.

"What gives Uncle Alphard, I get you're upset with me but this is very childish." I snapped. Uncle Alphard didn't reply. He just stared at the sky from his spot on the balcony. I came out, shut the doors for privacy and stood beside him.

"The other day Sirius got in a lot of trouble." He finally said. "He took his brother to the park by their house. They were told to come back if there were any muggles, but Sirius decided not to listen. He wanted to play on the jungle gym even if there were a million Muggles on it. Regulus was reluctant so he went home on his own much to Walburga's anger. She found Sirius playing with a little muggle boy from two blocks over. It took everything she had not to curse the poor boy." He sighed. "Sirius is in temporary lockdown."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked confused.

"Your seven-year-old cousin is willing to befriend a muggle. A muggle who is, in our family's eyes, filthier than a muggleborn and here you are too afraid to even be kind to a muggleborn who has done nothing to you but tried to help, to be your friend." Uncle Alphard said. "Sirius is a little boy and yet he's a much bigger person than you. It's rather disappointing."

I felt ashamed. He was right of course. Sirius had always been braver than me, but I shouldn't have been cruel to Ted. I could talk civilly to him, that wouldn't kill me.

"I can be nicer to Ted, I suppose," I said aloud. Uncle Alphard looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "But I can't be friends with him. Civil acquaintances, but not friends."

"And why not? Do you honestly thing the teachers would allow other students to attack you for being friends with whoever you wanted to? No one came after me until I was out of school and then it was because I stayed tied to the family too long." Uncle Alphard said finally facing me. "If being Ted as a friend doesn't work out, cut ties with him. If it does, cut ties with the family before you leave school. It's as simple as that. The family will be the only ones who will hate you for it and it's not like that matters much, they don't care about you, just the family honor. I know it's harsh to say, but they don't. I learned that the hard way so you shouldn't have to."

"If the family means so little to you, why are still here?" I asked.

"You and your sisters and cousins need me. I want to help you before it's too late. I lost Bella, but I think you and Sirius are hopeful causes. I may not lose you to the psychopaths I call my brother and sister." Uncle Alphard said. "Please, just think about it, will you?"

I nodded. He sounded so broken. I remembered Gabrielle. If I befriended Ted, would he die at my father's hand? I shook myself mentally. Gabrielle and Uncle Alphard had been in love. I didn't love Ted and he didn't love me. Surely being friends isn't enough to warrant such brutality.

"I'll try; I'll try to be his friend." I whispered. Uncle Alphard smiled and hugged me.

"That's my girl." He whispered.

"I think you're crazy," Cecelia said as we looked for an empty compartment. "Why do you want to be friends with those cats? I mean, we'll be laughed at."

"No we won't, my uncle was friends with a muggleborn girl in school. Nobody cared." I insisted trying to find the boys in question.

"No one but your crazy sister!" Cecelia practically screamed.

"Bella isn't crazy,"

"Have you met your sister?" Cecelia asked sarcastically. I chose to ignore her. We had this argument a lot and it was tiring. Bella wasn't important enough argue over. We had long since stopped telling each other everything, staying up late in the night talking about nothing. School had changed her and it wasn't a good change.

I stopped as I heard Todd laugh. They were in the next compartment and I opened the door. Todd was sitting by the window on the right side. The moment the door opened he stopped laughing and glared. Ted was sitting next to him. He didn't look angry, just surprised. A boy with flaming red hair and horn-rimmed glasses was sitting across from Ted.

"What do you want Black?" Todd asked.

"You could be nicer; I just wanted to know if we could sit with you." I said calmly. The one good thing about my family was that we were all taught to hide our emotions. I'll admit, Bella was awful at it and I wasn't great shakes either, but I could convince non-purebloods well enough. Cissy was the master.

"Why would we let you sit with us?" Todd demanded.

"Because it would prove you really are a gentleman under that mop you call hair." I said. Todd turned red and Ted laughed. So did the redhead.

"I don't see why you can't," Ted said. "There's plenty of room."

I smiled at him and stepped in. I sat on the redhead's right side. Cecelia huffed and plopped down on his other side by the window, her new cat, Phantom, sitting in her lap.

"Have you guys met Arthur Weasley?" Ted asked. "He's a third year Gryffindor."

"Er, no, nice to meet you," I said holding out my hand. Arthur smiled.

"Don't be surprised we've never met. Mum was disowned years ago." He said.

"I beg your pardon?" I asked.

"Of course, you wouldn't know, my mother was a Black." Arthur said.

"Really, that's interesting. Why was she disowned?" I asked.

"She married my father." Arthur said simply. I must have made a strange face because everyone, even Cecelia laughed. "I don't think she was very disappointed. She tells my brothers and I all kinds of horror stories, but maybe your family isn't as bad."

"Who are you grandparents? Maybe I know them." I asked. I was really curious now. I had never met anyone disowned.

"Arcturus and Lysandra," Arthur said. I shrugged.

"I've heard of them but never actually met them. They don't come to the parties."

"Maybe you know my aunts, Callidora and Charis?"

"Oh, yes, Callidora married Harfang Longbottom. You're cousins with Ferdinand and Isabella." I said. "I don't much like Isabella, but Ferdinand's great. Isn't he dating Augusta Sparrow?"

"Yep, that's Ferdinand." Arthur laughed. "He said he's not supposed to talk to me but he doesn't really care. He thinks my brother Billius is a hoot."

"And Barty, Patricia and Samantha are your other cousins, right?" I asked.

"Yup, I don't talk to any of them much. They aren't blood fanatics or anything, they just like politics." He made a face. "Anyway, my turn, who are your parents?"

"They're a lot younger than yours, but they're Cygnus and Druella." I said.

"Not ringing any bells." Arthur said.

"Dad's parents are Pollux and Irma if that helps." I added. His face lit in recognition.

"Mum's cousin Pollux, I remember her telling me about him. They didn't really get along. He's a bit older I believe and he tried to go after Dad."

I blushed.

"Don't worry, my father didn't hurt him…well, his pride maybe…" Arthur laughed.

"It's okay; I don't much like my grandfather."

"Me either," Cecelia said suddenly. "Sorry, just felt someone else needed to talk."

All of us laughed. Once we had stopped, Ted turned to me.

"So why the sudden change of heart? Not that I'm complaining, but you didn't seem to like me much."

"Oh, I didn't dislike you; I just didn't want Bella to come after me or something. My uncle told me he was friends with a muggleborn and no one hurt him so I decided it would be safe to be friends with you too." I said. Ted looked surprised but it was nothing to Todd's expression.

"You _wanted_ to be friends with us?" he asked.

"I said I wanted to be friends with _Ted_." I corrected. Todd's only use was to help me pass potions. Otherwise, he was an annoying git. Todd frowned.

"Well, you seem nice; I'll be your friend." Arthur said. "After all, we're cousins of sorts."

I smiled. "That's fine by me."

"This is some kind of trick, isn't it?" Todd blurted. "When we get content you'll tie us together and feed us to the Giant Squid!"

"Wow, you're stupider than you look." Cecelia said.

"Cici!" I scolded as Todd turned red.

"What, he's accusing us of kidnapping and murder conspiracy!"

"No, he's being an idiot." Ted said. "It happens every now and then. He has an overactive imagination."

"I do not!" Todd protested. "I heard Caterina telling Melanie about your very well thought out plan!"

"Which I firmly stomped into the ground," I said. "I couldn't let you drown, you were the reason I passed potions."

"Is that all I'm good for? "Todd demanded.

"Yes," I replied. She spotted the magazine on Arthur's lap then. "What's that?"

"Oh, this is the local Muggle magazine," Arthur said.

"Oh," I said. "Um, what's that on the front?"

"It's a record player," Ted said. "I brought one with me. We're going to see if we can get it to work here so that we can play some Muggle music at the meeting."

"Meeting?" I questioned. Ted laughed.

"Oops, I forgot, you've never been. It's for the Muggle Club. You should come. It's a lot of fun and you'll learn loads."

"Absolutely not," Cecelia snapped. "We're already risking being shunned by our House as it is!"

"I'd love to," I said firmly. Cecelia gaped.

Cecelia and I were sitting in the library doing our Charms essays when Bellatrix came in. She slammed her bag on the table nearly upsetting our ink bottles and sat in the seat next to me. Cecelia glared at her.

"Is it true?" Bellatrix hissed.

"You'll have to specify," I said calmly.

"Are you friends with a blood traitor and a Mudblood?"

"No," I said writing another sentence.

"Then why is everyone saying so? Thorfin said he saw you playing chess with them in the courtyard."

"Does that automatically mean we're friends?" I asked. "We played one games and then went to Transfiguration."

"What about Andrea saying she saw you studying with them in here?" Bellatrix demanded.

"Todd is good at Potions so he's been made my tutor." I explained. Bellatrix seemed unconvinced.

"This can't last Annie, we have a reputation to uphold." She hissed. I slammed my quill down and looked her in the eye.

"Is that all you care about? Family honor and reputation?" I asked. "Doesn't family matter to you? Doesn't my happiness matter to you?"

"Of course, but you can't possibly be happy with them. They're filthy," Bellatrix said.

"They shower, they don't smell," I said. Bellatrix glared.

"You know what I mean," she said.

"No, I don't, now leave me alone, I have a Charms essay to finish."

I grabbed my quill and went back to my essay. Bellatrix was breathing heavily. I heard her bag slide off the table.

"Be warned, I'll tolerate this friendship for only so long. If there is a hint of anything more, that Mudblood won't live to see his people's destruction."

"What does that mean? "I asked whipping around. Bellatrix smirked. "I suppose you'll find out one day, if you decide where your loyalties lie." With that she stormed out of the library.

"I told you your sister was crazy." Cecelia said.

"Andromeda!" I slowed down. Cecelia and I had been arguing about what Bellatrix had said all the way down from the library. I smiled.

"Hey Ted,"

"You wanted to come to the Muggle Club, right/" he asked when he'd caught up.

"Oh, yes, is that now?" I asked. Ted nodded. Then he frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, my sister is just getting on my nerves. She doesn't like me being friends with you," I said. "I said I'd come so I'll go."

"Annie…"

"I'll see you in the dormitory, Cici," I said turning away from her and following Ted.

The club was held in any empty classroom on the seventh floor. I could see why. Most of the members seemed to be from Gryffindor. There was scattered among them a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. I must have been the only Slytherin there. When Ted and I entered, most of them stared at me.

"Hey Arthur, I found her." Ted pushed me forward. Arthur smiled.

"Cool, Ted and I are in charge, but you can go sit by Molly Prewett. She's the redhead over there in Gryffindor colors. She's really nice and she won't judge you like most of the others." He said pointing to a girl our age.

"Er, okay, thanks," I said. I made my way over to the girl; all the while stares followed me. "Er, hi, Arthur told me I could sit with you."

Molly smiled. "Of course, here," she moved over slightly and I sat down. "You're Andromeda Black, right?"

"Yes," I said.

"Ted and Arthur talk about you a lot. Is it true that you didn't want to be friends with them before?" she asked a little sternly.

"No, but it may have seemed that way," I said quietly.

"All right everyone, let's get started!" Arthur shouted effectively gaining silence. "We haven't figured out the record player yet, so that won't be for a while, sadly. In the mean time, since we have new members, we're going to play a Muggle game called 'Do You Love Your Neighbor?"' Ted here will explain the rules."

"Okay, everyone grab a seat and put them in a circle," Ted began. Everyone did as they were told. I felt just a little self conscience doing this. Once we were all sitting in a chair in a circle, Ted got in the middle. "Notice I don't have a chair. I'm 'IT.' To get out of the middle I walk up to someone, anyone, in the circle." Ted walked up to me. I gulped. I didn't want to be the example. "So we can get to know each other we'll play it this way the first couple times. When the person in the middle comes up to you, say your name." He looked at me.

"An-Andromeda Black," I said. He grinned and winked.

"The person in the middle will proceed to say 'Andromeda, do you love your neighbor?' The person asked can either answer yes or no." He looked at me. I glanced from side to side.

"Er, yes?" I squeaked.

"If the person says yes, her neighbors switch seats…with a catch of course. If the person in the middle gets the seat of one the neighbors, the neighbor is now in the middle. Go ahead and switch seats." The neighbors on either side of me, Molly and a boy I didn't know, hopped up and switched seats. Ted grinned. "If the person in the middle doesn't get the seat, he goes to another person and tries again. Ted walked over to Todd.

"Todd Riley," Todd said smirking at me.

"Todd, do you love your neighbor?" Ted asked. Todd looked at the two boys on either side of him.

"No,"

"Now Todd said no, that means he gets to pick a characteristic her does like." Ted looked back at Todd.

"But, I do like brunettes, "he said. I scowled. He was looking right at me. Ted smiled.

"When he says that, everyone with brown hair stands up. I stood reluctantly with about ten other people. "All of you have the chance to be it, if you don't get a new seat. One last rule, you can't sit in the seat you were just sitting in and you can't just hop one over."

"Did I miss anything Arthur?" Ted asked as we sat down again.

"I don't think so," Arthur said. "I say, let the fun begin!"

An hour and a half later we were still playing. I was it. I looked around and spotted a Ravenclaw girl I didn't know. I walked over to her.

"Marlene Kendall," the girl said.

"Marlene, do you love your neighbor?" Marlene looked at her neighbors, Florean Fortesque and Benjy Fenwick.

"No," she finally said. "But I do love Gryffindors."

Half the group leapt up including Benjy. I promptly took his seat and watched everyone run around. Marlene tapped my arm. I looked at her.

"You know, I wasn't so sure about you at first, Andromeda, but you're not half bad." She grinned. I blushed.

"Oh, thanks," I said shyly.

"I hear you're good at Transfiguration," Marlene continued. "Do you think you could tutor me? I'm dead awful and I was afraid my House would laugh at me. I'm a Ravenclaw, I should be the one tutoring, not being tutored."

"Of course I'll help," I smiled. "But in return you have to agree to be my friend."

"Deal," she giggled as Arthur asked Molly if she loved her neighbor.

"Let me get this straight," Cecelia said that night in the dormitory. "You played a Muggle children's game and are now friend's with Molly Prewett, Marlene Kendall, Florean Fortesque, Benjy Fenwick, Caradoc Dearborn, Charity Burbage, and Edgar Bones?"

"In a nutshell," I said getting into my nightgown. "You should come next week. We're going to play Freeze tag."

"Freeze tag?" Cecelia asked.

"I have no idea," I shrugged climbing into bed. Cecelia shook her and climbed into her bed.

"If I didn't like you so much I would have stopped being your friend a long time ago."

"Cici, it's only been a year and like six weeks since we became friends." I said.

"Details," Cecelia said as I blew out the candle between us. "Still, how will it look if you're friends with Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws?"

"I don't see why it should matter. The teachers want us to be friends," I said.

"But they don't have to live in the dorms where everyone is going to judge you," Cecelia said. "They're all old and have forgotten what it was like to be a student."

"Cici, just come to the next meeting, please?" I begged. "If you don't like I won't make you go back, I promise."

Cecelia sighed in resignation. "Fine, I'll go."

I squealed. "You won't regret it!"

The next day during our morning free period, Cecelia went out to the grounds to enjoy the last of summer before fall took over. We were just about to start a game of Exploding snap when Marlene ran over to us. She had a big smile on her face.

"I saw you come outside so I figured you had a free period too and then I laughed because we have the same class next." Marlene said in one breath. "Can I join you?"

"Sure," I said. "When do you want to start the tutoring?"

"You're tutoring a Ravenclaw?" Cecelia asked. I ignored her.

"Er, whenever, I suppose we can start soon though since we already have an essay due Friday." Marlene said.

"Okay, how about after dinner today?" I asked. "In the library of course,"

"I'd love that, thank you so much," Marlene turned to Cecelia. "I don't believe we've met, I'm Marlene Kendall."

"Cecelia Lutokas," Cecelia said shaking Marlene's hand rather reluctantly.

"She's coming to next Wednesday's meeting. "I said happily. Marlene's face lit up.

"You're going to have so much fun! Muggles sure know how to have a good time."

I nodded. "I told her as much,"

"I looked up this Freeze Tag in Muggles For Dummies and it said it was a game where the person who is 'IT' touches people and they must stay still until some taps them back in. It sounds exciting."

"Andromeda Black!" I looked over Cecelia's shoulder. Bellatrix was walking over looking furious. "Common room, NOW!"

I didn't hesitate to follow. Cecelia was glaring; she really didn't like Bellatrix at all .Poor Marlene looked frightened. Bellatrix gave her a dirty look as we left. I tried to look apologetic but I wasn't sure Marlene saw me. Once Bellatrix and I were alone in the common room, she rounded on me.

"Did you go to a _Muggle Club_?" she demanded. I swallowed. How had she found out?

"I…"

"Andromeda, have you no self respect?" Bellatrix yelled over me. "First befriending a _Mudblood_ then going to a club all about filthy _Muggles_? What has gotten into you?"

I glared. Ted was my friend and so were all those Muggle lovers she was bashing. "I was always taught that you need to know the enemy so you can beat them. So I have to pretend to be their friend, big whoop."

Bellatrix calmed down. "Is that all you were doing? "

"Yes," I lied through my teeth. Bellatrix took a few deep breaths.

"I'm sorry I questioned your loyalty Annie. I'm just worried about you, you're my little sister and I only want what's best for you."

_Yeah right_ I thought. Then aloud, "I know."

"Good, I have to get to Ancient Runes, I'll see you at dinner," Bellatrix swept out of the common room. I sighed. This was going to be harder than I thought.

**A/N: it was shorter than I intended but it's still pretty good. I'm going to say what said on one of my other fics since I don't know how many people have alerted this, but if you have alerted, please review! I know at least one person wants this story to continue but tips and stuff are always welcome!**


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